Weekly Release Spotlight: Stereo Total

Posted on 8/15/2007

Stereo Total

Paris<->Berlin

[Kill Rock Stars]

Is it better to be bloated and gritty or sparse and clean? These are the two polar opposites that European duo Stereo Total attempt to reconcile with their new geographically titled full-length. For over twelve years now, the twosome's output has primarily been of the larger and harsher variety. That is, as large and harsh as you can consider their distinct brand of cutesy electro-garage music. Sure, everything about the band screams "tiny and adorable," but when their records often exceed the twelve track pop standard and the scuzz on their guitars and synths gets way out of control (I guess that's the inherent nature of scuzz though, right?) more often than not, one has to reconsider.

So when Françoise Cactus and Brezel (pronounced "pretzel"! ha!) Göring decided to title their new disc after their respective home cities, they might have decided to take their entire musical project and bring it back to square one to compromise their ever-increasing love of that which is smile-inducing and pleasant with that which is totes off the hizzy. Standout tracks in their past catalog represent this amalgamative perfection that Stereo Total has aimed for throughout their existence: "L'Amour à 3" from 2001's Musique Automatique is a prime example of this. It was a K hit for months (and justly so) due to its infectious and innocent-sounding chorus as well as its hilariously raunchy connotations of going to bed with two of your closest friends. Other records had their highlights as well, including "C'est la Mort" from their 1995 debut Oh Ah! and the title track from Paris<->Berlin's predecessor, 2005's Do the Bambi. While these nuggets of goof-pop gold were perfectly acceptable for us radio folks, the albums also had their fair share of mediocre ditties that only reemphasized Stereo Total's reputation as "better in small doses."

We could tell just by listening to an entire Stereo Total album full of dance parties and head bopping that they craved our attention as fans and listeners. We were at their weekday house party where the hosts are having a great time, were really likable, and everyone's really into it for a while, and then slowly but surely everyone caps out on fun and realizes that they've got to go to work in the morning. Cactus and Göring must have realized this, gone back to the essence of what got everyone interested in them in the first place, and made it simpler, slightly calmer, and cleaner, aching to keep us clamoring for their presence. Paris<->Berlin demonstrates that while faux-French garage band Les Sans Culottes can steal their messiness and Tokyo's Pizzicato Five can ravage them of their quirky sugared-up energy, no one can come close to replicating Stereo Total in whole. They don't need to be extreme in either direction, because they themselves (and their sound) are already extremely awesome.

It may have been a moment of self-discovery or it might have been totally natural in their progression as musicians, but regardless, Paris<->Berlin marks Stereo Total's step forward toward coming back home to everything everyone ever enjoyed about them in the first place. There's your song with a sing-along powerhouse chorus (current K hit "Plastic"), the song that lends itself to doing a totally chill version of the cabbage patch and exquisitely interlaces Goring's laid back croon and Cactus's seductively silly moan (album high point "Ta Voix au Telephone"), and the rock-n-roll glorifying anthem that makes the 4-track sound as broken and dirty as possible (album closer "Moderne Musik"). Add a deconstructive drunken cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Relax Baby Be Cool," and you've got enough highlights to make for one of the most solid offerings from Stereo Total thus far. Pretty impressive for an 8th record, where most artists have either dismissed their original sound completely or gotten redundant and uninteresting.

Stereo Total will be playing a Radio K sponsored event at the 7th Street Entry on Saturday, September 1st with The Octopus Project. Doors are at 8pm for this 21+ event.

Stream: Stereo Total - Plastic