Pitchfork

In the early 60s, synthesizer pioneer Bruce Haack and children's dance teach Esther Nelson founded Dimension 5, a project dedicated to releasing semi-utopian, future-is-now takes on educational music. Julliard-schooled (briefly), Haack became to the electronic pop what Chuck Berry was to rock and roll; unfortunately, that meant about a hundredth of the market share. His Way Out Record For Children (1968) and especially the extra-bizarre biblical concept album Electric Lucifer (1970) are at once benchmarks for 60s experimentalism and time capsules for 60s unabashed save-the-world mentality. Anyone interested in the roots of everything from Kraftwerk to Beck to Aphex Twin should check them out.

OK, so who better to cover this stuff than modern day doyens of stylishly clad idealism--that is, Stereolab? Despite a considerably difficult task in standing out from (much less improving) Haack's original piece from Way Out, the band turns in an almost complete makeover from the original's spoken word and tin drum ragga. Opening with a hi-speed drum and synth intro, they quickly sample the electro-glitter from the original, and jump right back in to the cop chase beat. They keep up this pace, adding Laetitia Sadier's wordless vocal harmonies, until hitting the creamy middle section headfirst. The drums drop out, and Sadier sings softly, standing just in front of buzzing tone machines and the fizz of home-made electronic ambience. And then, snapping me out of a lull, the dry, This Heat guitar and martial-funky drumming bully the song into the outro, jabbing forward like psychedelic boxers. This is better than anything on their last record, dammit.