Customer Reviews

First of the Microbe Hunters

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

the songs on this disc are a lot like "cobra phases" but without so much production or a horn section. the disc is comprised of 6 new songs recorded with sean o'hagan (high llamas) and produced by fulton dingley (who helped with one of the songs on cobra) and a seventh track resurrected from 1997 and produced by john mcintyre. the songs on this album are more groove oriented (outer bongolia, i feel the air) in the keyboard-heavy vein of "metronomic underground" and "brakhage" but also feature a healthy amount of tim gane and mary hansen's guitars. they continue in the jazzy vein opened up by "cobra" but also harken back to earlier albums like "transient random-noise bursts." as always, the interplay of laetitia sadier and mary hansen's vocals complement the complex instrumentations fully.

stereolab is the sort of band that inspires rabid fandom or indifference... if you are among the former, "microbe hunters" is worth picking up. if you are among the latter, i agree with amazon's reviewer, pick up "emperor tomato ketchup," "dots and loops," or "cobra phases" before this disc to fully appreciate the band.

my only quibble is that 40 minutes now seems short for a stereolab release.

p.s. go see this band live. i was lucky enough to see them perform some of the songs at the first show of their current us tour before i got the disc, and seeing the songs played so well live only made me enjoy the disc more.

soem ppl said that this is simply continuing where Cobra ended - no way. track no1 is probably the liveliest thing since Reverie, no3 rocks, and so on... really, surprisingly refreshing just when 'lab started repeating themselves... i hate to say this, but the lack of mr O'Rourke here (as much as i adore his solo efforts) is actually helping... and hm, Laetitia -could- try to catch up with the instrumentation now that its reaching Tortoise-style perfection... but anyway, i dont have any major complaints. Cobra and Dots go out for a ride in a brand new Jaguar.

A nice EP from Stereolab to keep us pacified till Sound Dust. I like how it begins with a nice cocktail instrumental. The EP is a nice collection of songs, granted it's not their best work, but it is far from their worst.

If you loved "Emperor Tomato Ketcup," then you will certainly like this fourty minute EP from Stereolab. It's a really atmospheric release.

The first time I listened to this CD I didn't know what to think, I just stuck in my disc changer with 5 other cd's and hit random. After about a week or two of randomly hearing the tunes I became very impressed with this album. I have been listening to Stereolab for about 6 years, I have all there albums and I think this is a great peace of work. I don't understand why people say this is under par or uninspired, no one knows what inspires someone else or when they are inspired. All the band can do is make music to how they feel at that speacial time when they make music. I recommend this album to anyone with an open mind, like any album.

I wouldn't normally review the same CD twice. I'm giving it 5 stars now because I think Stereolab deserves an extra star for the pissy fans. I read an interview with Tim Gane and he said that Microbe is not supposed to be a "new album," it's more of an addition to Cobra. Just look at the CD, it's packaged in much the same way as Cobra. One of the songs on Microbe is even a song that was intended for Cobra.

This album is pretty much right in line with Dots and Loops and Phases. At first, I only liked songs 1, 3 and 5, but after listening a few times, the other songs start to grow on you as well. After about 10 listens, you won't even think the first song runs too long, you'll be asking why it runs so short!

It's another good one from the 'lab! If you liked *cobra and phases* then you'll dig this one too. it's a continuation of that album, jazzy and funky both. this might be the closest they've come to getting their live show sound on a recording. this is the best release of this incredibly disappointing year so far.

I have listened to a lot of moaning about this CD. "...Not as inspired," "...not a progression," "...the same album as (fill-in-the-blank with any recent stereolab release here.)"

I have enjoyed stereolab in all of their many sound-guises and found their musicality peerless.

"Barock-Plastik" is one of the great funk grooves of our time. And "Household Names" would be the lead-off track if I made a Stereolab best-of mix.

After seeing stereolab live (touring for this EP and "Cobra Phases") with sonic youth a couple summers ago, THIS is the CD of theirs that I most often put in my stereo. Detractors should be ignored. Let your ears be the judge.

I should begin by saying that I've been a huge Stereolab fan since 1992; I own nearly all of their releases (with the exception of some of the vinyl-only releases).

The funny thing is, I usually don't care that much for a new Stereolab release the first few listens. They reinvent themselves a bit on each release, so I suppose I need a few listens to get "oriented." First of the Microbe Hunters was no exception. I didn't get into much at first, but it's become one of my favorites. About half of the tracks on this would be candidates for a personal best-of compilation ("Household Names" would be a shoo-in).

Is this the best CD to start with if you're new to Stereolab? Probably not. Go for Mars Audiac Quintet or Emporer Tomato Ketchup.

After the sort of "uninspired" direction from Cobra and Phases, this release takes it all back. Really don't know how, but it seems to interweave some of the best of Cobra and grab some of High Llamas soundin' stuff (of course) and throwing in a dash of the minimalist movement, a little of the song changes, and you've got a GREAT EP!!!! Highly recommended.