hypersongs

Mars Audiac Quintet

Their third studio album, recorded in six weeks, with "Ping Pong" as track five.
Stereolab, 1994

It came out on Elektra in the US on August 2, 1994 and on Duophonic in the UK on August 8; Stereolab (The Groop) and Paul Tipler mixed, Tipler engineered, and the Wikipedia article names no producer. Sean O'Hagan left as a full-time member during the recording but stayed as a session musician on marimba, slide guitar and brass arrangements, and Katharine Gifford joined on organs and Moog. Extra players were Alan Carter, Vera Daucher, Lindsay Low and Andy Robinson. "International Colouring Contest" is a tribute to Lucia Pamela. It reached 16 in the UK and 2 on the UK independent chart.

AllMusic, Q, Record Collector and the Rolling Stone Album Guide gave 4 stars, Uncut 8 out of 10, Entertainment Weekly a C-plus, and Pitchfork 9.1 in 2019. The band Transona Five is named after track three.

Track listing

  1. Three-Dee Melodie5:02
  2. Wow and Flutter3:08
  3. Transona Five5:32
  4. Des étoiles électroniques3:20
  5. Ping Pong3:02
  6. Anamorphose7:33
  7. Three Longers Later3:28
  8. Nihilist Assault Group6:55
  9. International Colouring Contest3:47
  10. The Stars Our Destination2:58
  11. Transporté sans bouger4:20
  12. L'enfer des formes3:53
  13. Outer Accelerator5:21
  14. New Orthophony4:34
  15. Fiery Yellow4:04

More from Stereolab

Peng! (1992), Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements (1993), The Groop Played "Space Age Batchelor Pad Music" (1993), Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996), Dots And Loops (1997), Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night (1999), The First Of The Microbe Hunters (2000), Sound-Dust (2001), Margerine Eclipse (2004), Chemical Chords (2008), Not Music (2010), Instant Holograms On Metal Film (2025)

Sources

  1. Mars Audiac Quintet, Wikipedia
  2. Stereolab, Wikipedia