Mick Conroy played keyboards for Stereolab briefly in the early days. This was after Modern English (for whom he played bass) split up for the second time. So, while tangential to Stereolab, any excuse to post this beaut.
2 Likes
One of the many things I’m looking forward to with this listening club is tapping into some of Stereolab’s influences.
I can’t think of any other band that has such a strong identity, and is so creative, whilst reusing, extending and combining the musical styles of other artists… and they have kept on doing it, whilst gradually changing and expanding their own palette. They’ve never sounded derivative to me, despite some fairly close copies (Jenny Ondioline and Neu!'s Hallogallo, for example).
Some of their influences are easier to spot than others. I’m hoping that the DiS hive mind can point as many out as possible. Bring your recommendations for further listening as we go 
3 Likes
Might have to start this up late this evening as I have to drive the family halfway across the midlands early tomorrow morning. An absolute shambles of planning!
1 Like
5 Likes
Can anybody here remember the name of an old-ish YT channel which identified individual Stereolab and Broadcast songs and paired them to their primary influences? I remember there were some remarkable matchups, it was a fascinating insight as to where both bands drew their inspirations from.
1 Like
I bought this album in a charity shop years ago which was definetly an influence, design wise at least
3 Likes
Just answered my own question! It was the Archives Listening channel, which first appeared in 2010. Whoever put together these incredible videos must have an encyclopedic knowledge of music.
4 Likes
Here we go!
Switched On
Switched On, released in April 1992 on Too Pure, collects Stereolab’s first three singles/EPs, all from 1991. I adore this record. Super-Electric is probably still in my top 5 Stereolab songs.
5 Likes
This is ace. Love stuff like this.
2 Likes
Switched-On
So Stereolab are a band that, in theory, I should really like. And, satisfyingly, I do like them! However, my actual knowledge of their music is limited to a handful of random albums that I own so I’ve got some quite huge gaps (that I’m looking forward to filling c/o this club).
This comp is one such gap. I was aware of ‘Super-Electric’ cause I used to listen to it obsessively in my old student house when I was 18, but other than that, all these tracks were new to me. Listening to this for the first time, the first thing that came to my mind was a kind of Euro-R.E.M.? Like that band, Stereolab kind of just emerge fully formed as themselves out of the gate (and this’ll partly be because Stereolab kind of form from the ashes of a few prior projects ofc); and also like R.E.M. they do this effortless thing of blending really catchy pop songwriting with more obscure influences (in R.E.M.'s case The Velvets; in Stereolab’s case a bit more Krautrock [and also the Velvets ofc]) in such a way that foregrounds influences but doesn’t sound derivative at all.
If I have any beef with this as a release having listened one and a bit times, I’d say that it does feel more like a collection of singles than an album (cause that’s what it is) and you can kind of hear that in the slightly repetitive feel of the sequencing. My highlight so far is ‘Brittle’ which is jush oh my gosh
3 Likes
7 Likes
Interestingly (and a chance to do a bit of namedropping), I interviewed a close associate of Broadcast a few years ago who said he couldn’t really get on with Stereolab at all. Which kind of surprised me at the time because I feel instinctively like, if you like one, you must surely like the other. As I’ve thought about it though, I definitely think Stereolab are much more a head band and Broadcast are much more an emotions band - even if they’re working with quite similar reference points
1 Like
They get paired together a lot but the more I listen, the further apart they sound.
Both are inspired by 1960s pop, both dabble in electronics and Trish and Laetitia’s voices and vocal phrasing are similar. And there’s the Duophonic link. But then Stereolab lean into kosmische, motorik, noise, jazz, French pop and tropicalia whereas Broadcast feel more grounded in psychedelia, British folk, library music and hauntology.
Maybe the main things they have in common are that they are crate-digging contemporaries with very cool music taste…?
3 Likes
Totally agree. Little time spent finding their feet and the rest of the 1990-91 band members seemingly brought together really quickly to help Tim and Laetitia turn their fully formed ideas into recordings and performances. My theory anyway!
1 Like
Just what I need today to give me some motivation and pep
1 Like
These guys really should have been on of my all-time bands for at least a decade. Foolish
1 Like
Really enjoying this. It’s a proper indie disco tune. Loving the fuzz and that bright melody.
Also loving The Way Will Be Opening at the moment. Looking at their 2025 set lists, The Way is the only song from Switched On that they’re still playing. I never appreciated how much it sounds like a Broadcast tune.
definitely felt this because if you’ve written a song as gorgeous as wistful as High Expectation why aren’t you making it the album closer??
1 Like
This was my first time with the material on Switched On. Now I’ve not spent a ton of time with their first two LPs but based on those, I don’t think I expected this comp of early EPs to be as accessible and pop as it is. Good stuff, need to revisit during the week.
1 Like