Stereolab visits Finney

Oberlin show is one of 19 in the country

Stereolab's Finney Chapel show on Nov. 11 marks their sole Ohio appearance of the year. Stereolab, mainly a European player, are limiting their U.S. concerts to 19 this year. Chris Baymiller, assistant director of the Student Union, said that the band was attracted by the opportunity to play in an acoustically unique atmosphere like Finney.

Baymiller also said that former Oberlin alum John McEntire produced Stereolab's Emperor Tomato Ketchup . One of McEntire's bands, Tortoise, has toured with Stereolab in the past. "It should be a great show," Baymiller said. "Hopefully there's enough people out there interested in seeing a pretty unusual concert."

People often don't know what to say when it comes to describing truly unique music such as Stereolab's. The band was founded in 1988 when guitarist Tim Gane and vocalist and keyboardist Laetitia Sadier first met in France. The pair constitutes the main creative core of the band while also enlisting the help of percussionist Andy Ramsey, guitarist/back-up vocalist Mary Hansen and keyboardist Morgane Lhote.

Stereolab have always - from their first Duophonic release Super 45- been a critically-acclaimed band. After releasing three albums on the Too Pure label in Europe, the band signed onto Elektra in 1993 and have released three more albums - the latest being this year's Emperor Tomato Ketchup.

Stereolab's style is eclectic, borrowing from bands such as Martin Denny, Can, the Velvet Underground, Astrud Gilberto, Neu! and Esquivel. They seem to impart an oblique approach to pop music which is due in part to a love for certain electronic devices such as vox, farfisa organs and analogue synthesizers.

At the same time, Sadier has commented on the group's commonality with the optimism of the 1950s, when the public believed that technology could be harnassed to make lives easier. This consumerist ideal, which finds its peak in the "Jetsons," is ironically coupled with social ideals; rarely does a song pass without having had the word "society" repeated at least a few times.

Herein perhaps lies the band's compelling quality: Sadier's demure vocals actually enhance the upbeat and feel-good quality of their music. Her vocal delivery and stylings meet the music at different angles, creating an uplifting yet subdued mood. When listening to Stereolab's music, one gets the sense of this organic feel-good attitude tempered with the sleek instrumentation of traditional rock instruments and electronics like synthesizers. The result is a music that defies genres.

Social ideals and aesthetics aside, think catchy before cerebral when it comes to Stereolab. Take Emperor Tomato Ketchup - the first song "Metronomic Underground" is a good example of how they can take a simple melody the distance by constantly tweaking it, keeping it interesting. It starts with a simple drum beat, some record scratching and electronic burps. Then from stage left, a jazzy little bassline eases the listener into the melody.

For good measure, some counterpoint guiter-picking is thrown in followed by a rollicking organ from stage right. Next, some background vocal-scatting begins to emerge from background synthesizers.

Only after this lengthy and layered intro do the demure vocal stylings of Sadier make their appearance. As the song saunters along, some elements are removed only to be re-inserted again later, building metrically through smart repetition.

Stereolab's repetition always contains complex textural transformations. "Tomorrow is Already Here" builds and sustains similarly with its detuned acoustic guitars and vibraphone. Other songs like "Percolator" and "Emperor Tomato Ketchup" exhibit a goofy, bouncy pop sensibility. Overall, Emperor Tomato Ketchup is an ambitious full-bodied effort, supposedly their "jazz" album: a fine introduction for the uninitiated.

Stereolab is known to put on riveting and creative shows, often reinterpreting the studio versions of their songs into something different. They also tend to use an abundance of lighting effects to create a visual atmosphere that fits their music. The bass-driven "post-funk" band Ui will be opening the show and should be well worth the price of admission themselves.