Imitation Electric Piano Reviewed
Imitation Electric Piano
Blow It Up Burn It Down Kick It ‘Til It Bleeds
(Drag City)
Stereolab side project’s third album adds vocalist Mary Hampton, making them even more like the mothership than ever before.
Hampton, whose name and voice immediately recall late Stereolabber Mary Hansen, has an upper range that adapts easily to the constantly shifting keys and tempos, spinning harmonies through “I Mean Wow” with an eye on whom she’s living up to. The core of the group, S-Lab’s Simon Johns and Primal Scream ally Andrew Blake, keep the songs anchored to folk guitar, adding stealthy/’60s spy flick touches (“Energy Is Beautiful”), processed bossa nova over French pop (“Le Rocque”), or layered, Smashing Pumpkins-style psychedelia (“Leave Her Johnny”). As if the sequencing weren’t enough to keep you off balance, Johns and Blake often stand on their heads mid-track, changing things (more often than not) for the best. It wouldn’t be a good idea to get too comfortable, though, because if you consider what happens song-to-song, imagine what goes on between albums.
— Steve Forstneger
