Mars Audiac Quintet [Expanded Edition]

Stereolab: Laetitia Sadier (vocals, guitar, organ, tambourine); Mary Hansen (vocals, guitar, tambourine); Tim Gane (guitar, organ, Moog synthesizer, bass); Katharine Gifford (organ, Moog synthesizer, background vocals); Duncan Brown (bass); Andy Ramsay (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Sean O'Hagan (guitar, slide guitar, marimba, percussion); Vera Daucher (violin); Alan Carter (flute, tenor saxophone); Lindsay Low (trumpet); Andy Robinson (trombone); Jean-Baptiste Gernero (background vocals).
Recorded at Blackwing Studios, London, England in Spring 1994.
On the basis of the insidiously catchy single "Ping-Pong" (regularly featured on MTV), Stereolab's fourth full-length album helped turn the Franco-British group from cult heroes into college radio and alternative-chart darlings. In 1994, the "lounge" revival was just barely getting underway, but much of MARS AUDIAC QUINTET incorporated loungy elements, from the Peter Gunn twang of Sean O'Hagan's guitar in "Ping-Pong" to the exotic Martin Denny-Arthur Lyman feel of the closing marimba-and-vibes instrumental "Fiery Yellow" and the lyrical salute to exotica queen Lucia Pamela in "International Colouring Contest."
Otherwise, the album further refines Stereolab's talent for obsessive one-chord drones mated with krautrock-style rhythms, Astrud Gilberto-inspired vocals, Marxist themes and analogue synthesizers. The synthesis of these elements is best exemplified by the overwhelming "Nihilist Assault Group" and the lovely "Des Etoiles Electroniques." In large part because of the poppier elements, this album is an excellent introduction into Stereolab's unique and wonderful aesthetic.