Laetitia Sadier's offshoot project from Stereolab, Monade is very much a band in its own right - in its 12th year at the time of this release. This, the group's third LP is an especially well-thought out affair, boasting intricate productions filled with instrumentation going far beyond the project's roots in kraut-influenced jangle. Monstre Cosmic features arrangements more comparable to Stereolab's late-nineties sound palette, coloured by strings and Serge Gainsbourg-like prog-lounge melodies. 'Etoile' is especially pleasing to the ears, with its harpsichord-like synths and a bass part that has that twanging Histoire De Melody Nelson feel to it. In fact it's the bass parts that go some way towards making this album as enjoyable as it is: they're often panned hard into a single speaker channel, and at first seem rove around in an excessively elaborate fashion, but in the process, the mix seems to become all the more cinematic and spatially dynamic. Sadier's writing seems especially on form here too, with songs that manage to be both memorable and intricately segmented, much as you'd expect from a top flight Stereolab full-length in fact.
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Laetitia Sadier's offshoot project from Stereolab, Monade is very much a band in its own right - in its 12th year at the time of this release. This, the group's third LP is an especially well-thought out affair, boasting intricate productions filled with instrumentation going far beyond the project's roots in kraut-influenced jangle. Monstre Cosmic features arrangements more comparable to Stereolab's late-nineties sound palette, coloured by strings and Serge Gainsbourg-like prog-lounge melodies. 'Etoile' is especially pleasing to the ears, with its harpsichord-like synths and a bass part that has that twanging Histoire De Melody Nelson feel to it. In fact it's the bass parts that go some way towards making this album as enjoyable as it is: they're often panned hard into a single speaker channel, and at first seem rove around in an excessively elaborate fashion, but in the process, the mix seems to become all the more cinematic and spatially dynamic. Sadier's writing seems especially on form here too, with songs that manage to be both memorable and intricately segmented, much as you'd expect from a top flight Stereolab full-length in fact.
Laetitia Sadier's offshoot project from Stereolab, Monade is very much a band in its own right - in its 12th year at the time of this release. This, the group's third LP is an especially well-thought out affair, boasting intricate productions filled with instrumentation going far beyond the project's roots in kraut-influenced jangle. Monstre Cosmic features arrangements more comparable to Stereolab's late-nineties sound palette, coloured by strings and Serge Gainsbourg-like prog-lounge melodies. 'Etoile' is especially pleasing to the ears, with its harpsichord-like synths and a bass part that has that twanging Histoire De Melody Nelson feel to it. In fact it's the bass parts that go some way towards making this album as enjoyable as it is: they're often panned hard into a single speaker channel, and at first seem rove around in an excessively elaborate fashion, but in the process, the mix seems to become all the more cinematic and spatially dynamic. Sadier's writing seems especially on form here too, with songs that manage to be both memorable and intricately segmented, much as you'd expect from a top flight Stereolab full-length in fact.
Laetitia Sadier's offshoot project from Stereolab, Monade is very much a band in its own right - in its 12th year at the time of this release. This, the group's third LP is an especially well-thought out affair, boasting intricate productions filled with instrumentation going far beyond the project's roots in kraut-influenced jangle. Monstre Cosmic features arrangements more comparable to Stereolab's late-nineties sound palette, coloured by strings and Serge Gainsbourg-like prog-lounge melodies. 'Etoile' is especially pleasing to the ears, with its harpsichord-like synths and a bass part that has that twanging Histoire De Melody Nelson feel to it. In fact it's the bass parts that go some way towards making this album as enjoyable as it is: they're often panned hard into a single speaker channel, and at first seem rove around in an excessively elaborate fashion, but in the process, the mix seems to become all the more cinematic and spatially dynamic. Sadier's writing seems especially on form here too, with songs that manage to be both memorable and intricately segmented, much as you'd expect from a top flight Stereolab full-length in fact.