Pitchfork

Let's go to Stereolab school. You'll need:
* A penchant for vintage organs and recording equipment.
* A love of light pop, psychedelia, and krautrock from the mid-60s through the mid-70s. (Extra credit: a not-so-dormant completist streak.)
* Hard leftist politics are suggested, but not required. However, you will be expected to have a fetish for vocal harmonies and wordless lyrics.
* A strong will in the face of legions of kids saying how much better Stereolab used to be.
* Perhaps more importantly, an easygoing nature: remember, you can't mind repetition or fluorescent colors.

Stereolab are as reliable an institution as anything you'll encounter in formal education. After umpteen albums, EPs, singles, and compilations, that they maintain the fan base they do says a lot for the number of sturdy, aesthetically sound ideas they've produced. In the academic world, the band would be akin to a tenured professor, long past her prime and not producing much groundbreaking research, but beloved by her students (and not just because her classes are easy As). Nevertheless, one has to carefully weigh the options when considering investing in new Stereolab music: Yes, the quality is good, but what is its shelf life? Since school and new records are expensive, perhaps we should survey the coursework for their recent trio of 7-inch singles (also made available online as a digital EP) to see if they make the grade.

The two-parted "Kyberneticka Babicka" is like a lost backing track from the Beach Boys' ill-fated Landlocked sessions, fitting somewhere between "'Til I Die" and obscure bed-period Brian Wilson things like "Loop de Loop" or "When Girls Get Together". Vocals harmonies are layered seven people thick, spilling into my lap like milk halfway to ice cream. Stereolab are still masters of gorgeous repetition, maddening though it may be to listen to eight or so minutes of the same two chord sequences. In fact, unusual for the band, these vocals may actually be looped, which lends the tracks (separated in name only, this two-parter sounds like a one-parter sliced to fit within 7-inches of vinyl) an almost inhuman character-- and that's a realm in which Stereolab often resides. However, I can respect this track: The "melody" is almost non-existent save some overtones poking out of the vocal harmonies, but like all the best minimalism, the end result is deceptively engaging, lulling me into hypnosis one minute, up to my ears in dairy-laden ecstasy the next. Course credit: A-

"Plastic Mile" and "I Was a Sunny Rainphase" are much more conventional, which in Groop terms equates to more variations on the Chicago post-rock period sound of the band's post-Emperor Tomato Ketchup catalog. The former tune is a mildly kaleidoscopic (though even-keeled to a fault) song that doesn't quite live up to its sleeve's day-glo cover art. Laetitia Sadier sings a high-pitched, occasionally hushed melody, surrounded by a pleasant array of vocal counterpoint lines, trumpets, Farfisa, and a chill vibe the Free Design would have killed for. And yes, that could describe any number of Stereolab's songs, but I doubt you'll be complaining I mislead you when you hear it. "I Was a Sunny Rainphase" is more upbeat, sounding like one of the rockier tracks on ETK (or hey, Margarine Eclipse). There's a break in the middle where everything slows down, trumpets swell, clavinets, er, clav, and what should be an introduction to the bridge gets stretched over and right back into the verse. Removing the expected details of pop music is one of the band's strongest points, but in comparison to "Kyberneticka Babicka", it feels like a belabored one. Course credit: B-

The final installment of the singles features two more up-tempo songs, "Interlock" and "Visionary Roadmaps". The first begins like an old-school Motown jam, with a drum-fill straight into Northern Soul stomp. No, Sadier never ends up belting a vocal like Major Lance, but for a few minutes anyway, she maintains the opening momentum with catchy, syncopated refrains like, "What good is all this knowledge we've acquired in the face of deep Nihilism?" "Visionary Roadmaps" borrows the beat from its A-side, using a slightly altered melody and an even slightly-er different chord progression. And Brent bless them, they sing "ba ba ba" at the end. Of course, you've heard this all before-- from Stereolab and me-- and while it's never unpleasant, it's not exactly memorable. Course credit: C

And just like the die-hards stayed with Brian Wilson throughout the 70s, no amount of unsurprising Stereolab music will sway fans much. In fact, I'm going to play "Kyberneticka Babicka" a few more times, and watch the others dissolve into the stew of their discography. As these things go, a B-average isn't bad.