Mars Audiac Quintet

Stereolab

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 9, 1994)
• Original Release Date: August 9, 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000002HG2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #58,993 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Think of a sober B-52s taking their inspiration from Brian Eno and the German synth pioneers of the '70s, and you'll have a sense of this English sextet's sound. --Jeff Bateman

Product Description
Japanese Budget Reissue Containing Bonus Tracks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most accessible of early Stereolab, December 28, 2000

By A Customer

I was just given this as a gift to complete a hole in my Stereolab collection. I hit play on the CD player, my jaw hit the table and didn't shut until it was over. If you own an early album by this band (Switched On, Refried Ectoplasm, Transient Random, etc.) and are wondering which one to get next, this is it. If you own later stuff by the band, are wondering what the earlier stuff is like, and don't like too much grit in your pop, this is the one too. Gorgeous drones, lots of repetition, drums and guitars, bilingual lyrics, analog synth washes, this one has it all. Classic Stereolab. Don't wait six years to get this like I did.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly their best, April 7, 2005

By	Mark - See all my reviews

When I first heard this album, I thought, "Oh, no, more organs, more repetition, same old drumbeat for every song, same old everything." However, a second listen is needed to fully appreciate this as a standalone album. With Peng! formerly being my favorite record by the groop, I was hoping to pick up Transient Random Noise Bursts with Announcements, their second album, but since there were none on the shelf, I settled for this, their third.

Mundane (or actually just poor) album art aside, this one started as a disappointment and quickly skyrocketed up to the top of my list. Unlike their other albums, this one relies much more heavily on melody than harmony, which later albums do not reflect. Like any Stereolab (Dots and Loops aside), it's different, but it's still the same sound. It's much lighter-hearted and less distorted than the work on Refried Ectoplasm, but comparitively Refried Ectoplasm is the closest thing to this out there.

My top five Stereolab songs:
1) John Cage Bubblegum (Refried Ectoplasm)
2) The Stars our Destination (Mars Audiac Quintet)
3) Jaunty Monty and the Bubbles of Silence (Instant 0 in the Universe EP)
4) Outer Accelerator (Mars Audiac Quintet)
5) Perversion (Peng!)

And thus, this is the one that I deem Stereolab's best. Introduce yourself to Stereolab with it or pick it up to fatten up your collection. Either way, this is a solid and 100% stellar album.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Stereolab at its best, November 21, 1999

By	"eqtweak" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

I have yet to hear a bad album from Stereolab. This is among their best. Chicks dig it. Your friends will love you for it. You'll wonder how you ever lived without it. The only thing better is seeing them live. This isn't recent Stereolab, though, which is cleaner and more bassy. This stuff is pretty raw in comparison, with live drums, bass and guitar, and with layer upon layer of distorted, fuzzed-out Moog synthesizer, and then Latitia Saedler's (sp?) smart voice coming through the mix with some wonderful harmonies and such. Saedler is renowned for her philosophical lyrics, which on this album team up with the music like no other Stereolab album. Awesome!