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10.0
141343
10.0 |
Evening Standard
Stereolab return with their first album in 15 years and bring a political fury beneath their sophisticated pop grooves
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9.0
141344
9.0 |
Far Out
This is highbrow music for lowbrow times, and it dances interestingly on the precipice of that interplay in a manner you can’t even begin to understand
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9.0
141336
9.0 |
Uncut
Offers a kind of manual on how to resist the negativity and reconnect with society. Alternatively, it's another super-fun Stereolab album full of obscure synth blurps, nifty lounge-pop tunes and gnarly motorik wig-outs. Print edition only
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9.0
141321
9.0 |
musicOMH
One of alternative music’s most beloved outfits return with their first album in 15 years, sounding as elegant, refined and exploratory as ever
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9.0
141352
9.0 |
Under The Radar
In an era when so much politically aware music feels either performative or joyless, Stereolab have made something far more valuable: a record of moral seriousness and emotional openness, a reminder that the world we want is already stirring in us
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9.0
141355
9.0 |
All Music
Capturing the inspiring spark in bygone visions of what the future could be is one of Stereolab's greatest strengths, and the brilliant ways they do this on Instant Holograms on Metal Film don't just live up to their legacy - they push it forward
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8.3
141374
8.3 |
Spectrum Culture
Instant Holograms on Metal Film has a legacy to grapple with, but Stereolab engage with that heritage in a way that is respectful without being deferential
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8.0
141375
8.0 |
Exclaim
As direct as it is complex, Instant Holograms is an album of pure sonic pleasure
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8.0
141342
8.0 |
The Guardian
Motorik grooves, Marxist critique and vintage synths – in their first album since 2010, Lætitia Sadier et al pick up where they left off yet sound more timely than ever
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8.0
141357
8.0 |
Slant Magazine
The album is fluid, organic, and very Stereolab
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8.0
141359
8.0 |
God Is In The TV
Getting lost in their technicolour world will always be such a pleasure. If they come back soon or if it’s another 15 years, it seems unlikely they’ll ever be taken for granted again
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8.0
141371
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
The avant-pop icons are back with their first album in 15 years, Instant Holograms on Metal Film
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8.0
141324
8.0 |
The Quietus
It sounds like they’re relaxed and open to exploration, making for a suite of songs as bright as its yolk-yellow album art
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8.0
141325
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Instant Holograms on Metal Film fits so seamlessly into their near-faultless canon that you can’t help but wonder why critics didn’t always appreciate them the first time around
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8.0
141331
8.0 |
The Arts Desk
There’s still some 'motorik' Krautrock relentlessness but the overwhelming mood here is of retro-pop sweetness and light
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8.0
141337
8.0 |
Mojo
This is a record that more frequently speaks and embodies the language of connection, of entwining and union, the clash between hard-edged politics and the beautiful fractals of their music less stringently juxtaposed than in earlier work. Print edition only
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7.8
141322
7.8 |
Pitchfork
The Groop’s first album in 15 years sounds like the Platonic ideal of a Stereolab album: cerebral, slippery, playful, and defiant
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7.7
141480
7.7 |
Paste Magazine
Rather than tackling new landscapes or new sonics on their first album in 15 years, Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier have opted to refine, diving deeper inside the interior world of their music
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6.0
141347
6.0 |
Northern Transmissions
With the advantage of time and progressions in the scene, as well as the reassurance that their identity will never be forgotten, it is strange and ultimately disappointing Stereolab wrote such a tame record
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4.0
141338
4.0 |
Record Collector
While the lyrics are typically sharp, reflecting righteously on "Systemic Extortion", the parlous state of truth and more, the music unspools along almost cosily familiar tracks. Print edition only
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