Chanson Hysterique 1995-2005

Françoise Cactus' February 2021 death marked the end of Stereo Total, one of indie's most original and long-running projects. The last project she worked on with partner Brezel Goring and the band's final release, Chanson Hysterique 1995-2005 celebrates Stereo Total's first ten years -- and Cactus' joyfully independent spirit. The six albums collected here are a testament to how singular their sophisticated but clever and fun style was from the beginning. With its proudly cheap keyboards, fuzzy guitars, and rudimentary percussion, 1995's Oh Ah! introduced the duo's shabbily glamorous world with the punk ye-ye of "Miau Miau" and the playful reimagining of Europop of "C'Est la Mort." The band's debut also signaled how vital covers of pop songs of different flavors would be to their music. Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" might be one of the most audacious songs they reworked, but the Eurotrash disco version of KC & the Sunshine Band's "Get Down Tonight" and the sweet rendition of the Tee-Set's "Ma Belle Amie" are just as witty. From there, Stereo Total refined their sound, revealing different facets of their music along the way. The high-strung electro-pop of 1997's Monokini spawned some of the band's key tracks, such as "Schön Von Hinten" and "Supergirl," which suggested a meeting of the minds between Pulp and Serge Gainsbourg. Their global pop postmodernism peaked on 1999's My Melody, which balanced witty covers of Gainsbourg, Cher, Pizzicato Five, and the Beatles with originals that echoed Nena's new wave stomp ("Beautycase") and Françoise Hardy's delicate drama ("Tout le Monde Se Fout des Fleurs"). Though Cactus and Goring polished their style to a bright sheen on 2001's Musique Automatique and came closer to mainstream recognition with the playfully amorous single "L'Amour a 3," by 2005's Do the Bambi, they were already returning to their cheap 'n' cheerful, culturally omnivorous roots with a Bruce Haack-like cover of Nico's "Chelsea Girls" and "Orange Mecanique," an affectionate homage to Wendy Carlos' soundtrack to A Clockwork Orange. Chanson Hysterique's bonus material makes the set even more comprehensive: along with a catalog of Cactus' boldly D.I.Y. artwork, the set includes plenty of rarities. While some of these songs appeared on the reissues Kill Rock Stars put out in the early 2000s, there are many that even longtime fans may not have heard before. Even more so than their albums, Stereo Total's singles and EPs showcased their creative and enthusiastic covers, which ranged from their synth-tastic version of "Tetsuwan Atomu," the theme to the legendary anime Astro Boy, to "Je Reve Encore De Toi," the duo's interpretation of Taxi Girl's 1985 reworking of the Velvet Underground's "Stephanie Says." "Carte Postale," which relocates the Rivieras' early-'60s classic "California Sun" to St. Tropez, is a perfect example of the duo's mission to reject trends and find new life in old instruments and old songs. A thoughtfully created set for fans to remember Stereo Total by, Chanson Hysterique is an exuberant reminder of just how much artistic ground they covered within their one-of-a-kind style. ~ Heather Phares