Customer Reviews

Stable Reference

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In this age of post-grunge sound-alike mediocrity, it's refreshing to look at a band that has been forging new territory with every record. On A Stable Reference, their 2nd, Labradford takes the bare bones approach from Prazision LP (their debut) and adds, of all things, warmth.

The tracks on A Stable Reference rely heavily on warm, gliding basslines that guide the development of the songs through the numerous additions and subtractions of elements. And it's this bass that makes this record a very pleasant surprise for anyone who may have thought that Labradford was too ambient.

Where the stripped down beauty of the Prazision LP was all about subtlety, A Stable Reference puts the focus on adding hooks and grooves to the clicks, pops and drones.

Needless to say, though, this is still a Labradford record, so the groove that is present is definitely not the type that will fill a dancefloor, but it will certainly engage the listener and, quite likely, be just the thing to bring Labradford to a new audience.

When you line this up perfectly with their last release in 1993, "Prazision LP" (which is excellently done) you get a concept floating.

Somewhere inside those intricate cravesses, cold summer nights on the lake and warm afternoons in the woods, I find this album to be the perfect companion. You launch into different things (your own outer space) with the title track, "Mas" and then float into a landscape fresh and new filled with great things in "El Lago" which tunes in a slpit second into the deep, beautiful, tearful track of "Streamlining," which allows us to stare at the stars from a canoe in the nighttime.

"Banco" whips in at track 4 with a NEW day feeling which eventually drops COMPLETELY into a world of dark flaming spookiness in the opposite track, "Eero." As that drones in and out "Balanced on its own Flame," comes in as sort of a NEW level or chapter allowing us to submerge in the new world as track 7's "Star City, Russia" almost completely duplicates the preceding.

"Comfort" shines through the windows in track 8 and then drops us back into insanity with its ending piece, "Sedr77." I listen to this album almost as much as I do with the Prazision LP.

Other great discs to check out for MORE outer world music is Stars of the Lid's "Ballasted Orchestra," "Tired Sounds," or "Gravitational Pull vs. The Desire for an Aquatic Life." Labradford have some other terrific mind music albums available from kranky.net and I love and own all of them. BUY "A Stable Reference," its really a shame nobody's reviewed such a fine album yet.

This is one of the simgle most inspiring albums I own. Some albums have an unexplainable connection to a person, this one has that with me. I have listened to it consistantly for years and it hasn't lost any luster, only gained in depth. If you like ambient music, you basically can't go wrong. Every single time I listen to this album I just wanna close my eyes and float, and that's exactly what it sounds like.
-Joel Eckert

I love this record. When I first sampled it at the record store, it reminded me of Twin Peaks' soundtrack (which I got later and was sorely disappointed in it's lack of depth and plasticity). A Stable Reference makes me want to go to sleep which may not sound like a good recommendation. It's a great record to fall asleep to! Very dreamy and cinematic. I really like that it has no drums or rhythm per se. The pace is so glacial. Not for everyone I suppose. I had a girlfriend who was into country and said it sounded like music for vampires(!) which I don't agree with but I guess I can see. It is dark but very beautiful.