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Nov 28, 2018 Web Exclusive By Dom Gourlay

Formed in 1990 by Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane after the dissolution of Gane’s former band McCarthy, Stereolab were something of an anomaly at the time. Taking elements of the past to construct a visionary sound clearly in thrall with the future, their music proved nigh on impossible to pigeonhole from day one. Which is probably why nearly 30 years later they’re still highly revered by both fans and critics alike.

Having found kindred spirits within the “shoegaze” community as it would later come to be known, Stereolab spent their formative years sharing bills and labels with bands like Moose and Moonshake so it’s little surprise the band’s experimental nature was omnipresent from the outset and became synonymous with their name.

All three volumes of their Switched On compilations from the 1990s have been reissued on clear vinyl and via a 4-CD box set. Volume one of Switched On documents the band’s first three releases (the Super 45 and Super-Electric EPs plus the Stunning Debut Album 7-inch) and sounds as fresh today as it did when first issued back in October 1992. While still finding their sound, Stereolab’s ambitions already far outweighed many of their peers, even at this early stage. “Contact,” the fourth track off the aforementioned Super-Electric sounding otherworldly especially in the context of many other releases that year while providing an excellent compendium for the band’s debut album Peng!, released five months earlier. (www.stereolab.ochre.store)

Author rating: 8/10