Stereolab brings the noise and a new album to Chicago

October 10, 2008, at the Vic Theatre

By Selena Fragassi
Published: October 13th, 2008 | 10:00am

The guy dancing in front of me was wearing a hoodie emblazoned with a headline that perfectly described Stereolab’s set at Chicago’s Vic Theatre: “Feel the Noize.” From shaky beginnings to a harmoniously blessed encore, the storied British band’s hour-and-a-half-long set never let up its auditory assault that amplified the best of its prolific sound: a colorful palette combining ’60s French pop with space-age experimental harmonies that fit neatly into the chiseled grooves of frontwoman Laetitia Sadier’s lounge vocals.

From the moment Stereolab’s set began, it was abruptly plagued by sound problems, whether it was Sadier’s equipment delay, the shock therapy of the feedback that made an appearance at the most inopportune moments, or the heavy bass line that broke up the romance of Sadier’s poetry, sung half in French and half in English.

But the one-two-three punch was not enough to knock out the spirit of the band or the eclectic audience that danced in every nook and cranny of the venue. “The show must go on,” Sadier said. And on it did, picking up speed and near perfection when adding in composer Tim Gane’s arrangements on favorites such as “Ping Pong,” “Eye of the Volcano,” “French Disko,” and “Cybele’s Reverie.”

Gone was the sorely missed accompaniment of Mary Hansen’s backing vocals that so strongly influenced the hypnotic trance of the original recorded versions. Hansen, who was an early member of Stereolab, joined in 1992 and recorded and toured with the band until her accidental death in 2002. She was never replaced.

While the band has since moved forward, its latest material from this year’s Chemical Chords (4AD) shows yet another metamorphosis that was seen in performances of “Neon Beanbag,” “Valley Hi!” and “The Ecstatic Static.” Chemical Chords, the band’s first departure from Elektra Records, is a noticeably more upbeat offering — as Sadier herself has called it, the “day album.” The as-of-yet unreleased “night album” includes another 15 songs that return to the band’s darker and more politicial lyrical consistency. One of these, “Bump,” was put on display later in the night, aiding to the hopes that part two will be released in the next year.

Born in the early ’90s, after the times of politically heavy punk music, Stereolab has long been questioned about the strong overtones of Marxist theories in Sadier’s lyrics which are often hidden in Gane’s uptempo compositions. Tonight, however, was more blatant, as Sadier introduced one of the features as a song “about freedom fries,” which drew an overwhelming approval from a fanbase that illustrated Stereolab’s long career climb: always popular underground, but never really hitting commercial success. But then again, the band and its fans probably wouldn’t have it any other way than for Stereolab to be kept as one of music’s best-known secrets.

The crowd, happy to have gotten the insider tip of the night’s performance, clamored to find dance partners for the many marathon jam sessions that looped throughout the set. For their part, Sadier and company were keen to just remain in place — she softly swayed to the music and Gane stayed behind his multitude of keyboards like a mad scientist who didn’t know what he would come up with next.