Stereolab / Not Music

Stereolab
Not Music
(Duophonic UHF Disks)

Indie-pop veterans Stereolab are currently on an ominous "hiatus" - a situation which will no doubt leave their fans eating fingernails on toast while they wait to see what happens next. In the meantime, we get this - a collection of material recorded in session for 2008's 'Criminal Chords' album.
You'd be forgiven for expecting a collection of 'black sheeps' - tunes which were so despicable they didn't even make the B-side team. Yet this is far from the case: 'Two Finger Symphony' is an infectious pop number, with acid jazz piano making for a refreshing contrast to the indie melodies. 'Everybody's Weird Except Me' evokes a melancholy and mysterious sense of the sea, while 'Equivalences' strokes its chin like a Parisian detective on the trail of his prey.
It boggles the mind to think that Stereolab could just reach into the draw marked 'unreleased stuff' and pull out an entirely decent record. Sure it's not all concentrated genius - the record is tied together by a few space jams and remixes - but these are never indulgent. The 'Silver Sands' remix, for example, feels like Belle and Sebastian covering Bowie's Labyrinth soundtrack. What more could an indie geek want?