Music : Chemical Chords
List Price: $14.98Amazon.com's Price: $13.99 You Save: $0.99 ( 7%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0652637281521
Label: 4AD
Manufacturer: 4AD
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: 4AD
Release Date: August 19, 2008
Sales Rank: 5746
Studio: 4AD
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Album Description:
Being released by the iconic legendary label 4AD, Chemical Chords is a collection of purposefully short, dense, fast pop songs, according to Gane, brimming with Motown-like drums, O'Hagan's finest baroque-pop brass and string arrangements and etched with some of Sadier's most eloquent, mellifluous vocal performances to date, it is, nonetheless, classic Stereolab; like all their best work, a perfect equipoise between an implausibly cool past and a shamelessly exotic future. The eleventh album in an illustrious career, Chemical Chords began life in early-2007 when Tim Gane started messing with a series of about seventy tiny drum loops on top of improvised chord sequences using piano and vibraphone. Building them up from there later slowing the tracks down or speeding them up a totally new way of doing songs for us With typical prolificacy, the band laboured over the summer at their studio, Instant Zero (in Bordeaux, France), helping transform these blueprints into 32 luminous new songs, with keyboardist/technician Joe Watson manning the mixing desk. Half the new repertoire was selected for this album, which, for all the breathless spontaneity of its invention, is arguably the band's tautest, most highly focused work this century.
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
something has been off for me with stereolab since marys death. i dont know why. i didnt know her, so it wasnt anything on a personal level. it was a certain charm, maybe?
after listening to this album multiple times, i do believe that the charm is back, there are still cerebral, challenging songs here, yes, but they are crisp, tight, short and amazing. yes, amazing. this is by FAR the most enjoyable stereolab release in years.
the strings, the hooks (all songs have at least one), the amazing sound, its all here. its all sterolab. this is a great album. i have been a fan for over a decade, and i do believe that this is the cd that i would recommend to beginners, and in time, might fall into my top choice myself. thanks, guys. love the cd.
Rating:  -
I have been eagerly anticipating the new Stereolab album for some time, intrigued by Tim Gane's tantalising account of the creative process that led to 'Chemical Chords'- of a batch of his own musical doodles from which the groop developed the final, fleshed out tracks in the studio. So yes, as one would expect from Stereolab, 'Chemical Chords' is a lushly orchestrated album (Sean O'Hagan's arrangements add wonderful texture, especially the strings on 'Cellulose Sinshine' and 'Self Portrait With Electric Brain'), but each track bears the succinct imprint of a singular idea perfectly realised, unlike previous albums where some tracks feel like two or three condensed into one. The synergy between the musical elements makes this another Stereolab album that will continue to reward repeated listens. It's really only just beginning to sink in for me, and so far 'Daisy Click Clack','Self Portrait With Electric Brain' and 'Cellulose Sunshine' have particularly infected my musical consciousness.
The Stereolab formula is evident, but sufficiently tweaked to engage the fans- I can't imagine they will be disappointed. This is a great album, and it's certainly not bereft of candidates to add to your selection of favourite Stereolab songs. It also has an infectiously cheerful quality that might just dispel some mental rainclouds- even those with that mood of restless yearning don't stray too far towards melancholy.
N.B I highly recommend getting the version with extra ... Read More
Rating:  -
As a fan of "the Groop" for, oh, eleven years now, I firmly believe now, after listening to "Chemical Chords" multiple times, that it's time for the gang to hang it up. ..or at least do SOMETHING different.
Those like myself who have been growing increasingly tired of the formula that used to be interesting may have been having trouble completely accepting "Margarine Eclipse" and "Fab Four Suture" as true Stereolab albums. Yes, they're just like anything else they've done, but at one time, this was a band of seemingly endless possibilities. "Emperor..." was considered a modern classic and "Dots..." improved on the sound. They took chances, they wanted us to be impressed. I don't feel that anymore.
Popping "...Chords" into the CD player initially, it took exactly seven seconds for me to yawn and think maybe it's "Margarine Eclipse" all over again. ..and really, I wasn't far off. It took four tracks for me to really become interested, as the title track is gorgeous.
"Chemical Chords," the song, is gentle, free of any discerning beat, yet is a glimmer of hope that was desperately needed. The strings are simply beautiful and flashes of old-time sophistication return, but only temporarily. Immediately afterwards comes "The Ecstatic Static," apparently the prior track's little sister.
The rest of the tracks have very small factors that make them unique, but any long-time fan of the group should be able to tell that they're neither improving ... Read More
Rating: -
"Chemical Chords" is not too far removed from the Stereolab we all fell for oh so many a year ago and what's really highlighted by this offering is the reassuring fact that their focus and somewhat obsessive work ethic is as true and alive today as it ever was.
They have plowed their particular furrow for many years, constantly tweaking their particular mixture of dreamy french pop, soaring vocal lines, squelching moog synths and xylophone.
The trademark 'Stereolab sound' is predictably and thankfully present.
The London-based band have delved back into their Gallic pop roots for their most recent album 2004's acclaimed Margerine Eclipse.
Augmented by former guitarist Sean O'Hagan, they provide more of the tried and tested formula that has seen them not quite crossover to the bigger audience that perhaps, at one time, they deserved.
Aided by O'Hagan's soaring brass and swooning strings, the simple melodic themes build into pleasant enough meanderings, taking in various instruments along the way: a harpsichord arpeggio here, a flute part there, a squelchy and insistent beat and melancholic guitars and vocal musings very much in evidence on the beautiful opener "Neon beanbag".
O'Hagan's work is very much in evidence again on the title track, which is full of melancholy cinematic sweeps and the occasional Curtis Mayfield-esque string runs.
Kicking off with "Neon Beanbag", the ninth album from London-based post-rock pioneers Stereolab, gets off to ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
|
