I honestly didn’t realise I’d gone so long without posting. Time must be going through one of its warped phases.
I won’t say I was exactly apprehensive about seeing Stereolab in their unfortunately Mary-less format, but I did wonder how it was going to work. Although Mary had been with the band since 1992, the denser arrangements of their recent albums made her singing and guitar/keyboard playing ever more vital.
My curiosity was justified… there was definitely something different about Stereolab last night. Nothing actually wrong or bad; as usual, they were on fine form. Part of it, I’m sure, was the unfamiliarity of seeing them in such a small, low-ceilinged venue (let’s face it, the Islington Carling Academy is a truly crap venue) with all the sonic imperfections that implies. Apart from that, though, there was something else… a tangible feeling of absence. Laetitia is more than capable of providing solitary lead vocals, but so much of the recent Stereolab sound has depended on the interplay and contrast between the voices.
Still, the newly expanded line-up allows for a much richer instrumental sound, with French horn or trumpet doubling Laetitia’s trombone on the songs from the last three albums. And with new boy Joe Watson (or Walters? I forget which is which) able to double on bass, we now get to hear two drummers on some tracks. The sound of two well synchronised drummers, playing different but complementary parts, is one of the finest musical sounds I know of.
Stereolab may have been forced to change, but there’s great hope for the future.