ne of the problems with having such an accomplished and dynamic back catalogue as Stereolab is that follow up albums are often unfairly criticized and slated for their familiarity. In 2001, three major musical forces struggled to make significantly new additions to their catalogue with familiar sounding releases. Bjork was met with indifferent responses to her string-laden Vespertine, Aphex Twin’s classical opus of an album Drukqs was unfairly slated for an apparent lack of innovation, and Stereolab released Sound-Dust to a luke-warm response. If anyone of these albums had been the artist’s debut they would have been considered more than acceptable, but unfortunately most music critics have some form of higher agenda than your average listener.


I approached Sound-Dust as a long-time Stereolab fan that has become rather disenchanted since Cobra and Phases.., due to their change in direction towards bachelor-pad music. Although I appreciate Sean O-Hagan’s fantastic input into the band (and can actually single out a number of excellent swing-pop numbers they have released since he joined the band), a part of me longs for at least a partial return to the early days of reverberated guitars and funky bass-lines. Although Sound-Dust still remains a later-era Stereolab release, it shows signs of changes in direction here and there, even showing signs of a new pop-ethic in their songs – most evident in the album single "Captain Easy-Chord".


The album starts with "Black Ants in the Sound-Dust", combining trumpets and organ vibes with a simple sing-song vocal. The somewhat spooky "Spacemoth" lays down what appears to be a theremin alongside an unusual array of organs and harpsichord, before a funky, driving rhythm breaks in – somewhat reminiscent of Emperor Tomato Ketchup’s more upbeat numbers. As the song's third segment breaks in (again with an accompanying brass section) you get the feeling Stereolab is back in stride again, as the sound flows better than any material they’ve produced since 1997’s Dots and Loops. And this feeling is compounded by the stunning signature single "Captain Easychord", based around a simple piano piece and Sadier’s wonderful vocals, highlighted by effective use of O’Hagen’s horn section – the album reaches its peak as the song molds into a carefree pop number mid-song. Sadier’s lyrics seem somewhat more subdued than her previous socialist diatribes, but even though they maintain more of an upbeat flow, I get the feeling something quite unusual is bubbling underneath. "The Black Arts" may be the first ever Stereolab love song, as well as being a very tender yearning number with a oscillating rhythm – harking back to Pet Sounds era Beach Boys tracks.


From there the album falls back into Stereolab's lounge driven approximation of funk. "Hullicunix" employs Mary Hansen's gorgeously authentic take on 60s doo-wop backing vocals, while "Double Rocker" takes on elements of Les Baxter and "Gus the Mynah Bird" (perhaps the most politically charged track on the album) experiments with a dramatic dynamics change that almost sounds as if the final portion of the song was recorded underwater.


The album shows little change from their previous albums, with only the minimal amount of differences here and there streamlining the songs. What is interesting, though, is the themes throughout the album. I get the feeling something quite dark and mysterious is brooding underneath each carefully crafted organ piece and hummable melody. What I hear when I listen closely to this album is a band trying to produce the best album of their career by having a little fun, by mixing up their varied array of styles, and not trying to force a message on the listener. They haven’t quite meet their goal, as this still falls short of Emperor Tomato Ketchup and Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, but I have found the album does improve with every listen and is most definitely worthy of a place in anyone’s CD collection.