Mars Audiac Quintet

Mars Audiac Quintet is the third studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 2 August 1994 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records.

Mars Audiac Quintet
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
RecordedMarch – April 1994
StudioBlackwing (London)
Genre
Length66:57
Label
Stereolab chronology
Ping Pong
(1994)		 Mars Audiac Quintet
(1994)		 Wow and Flutter
(1994)
Singles from Mars Audiac Quintet
  1. "Ping Pong"
    Released: 18 July 1994
  2. "Wow and Flutter"
    Released: 17 October 1994

Recording

Stereolab recorded Mars Audiac Quartet in March and April 1994.[3] Keyboardist Katharine Gifford joined the band for the recording of the album. During recording, guitarist Sean O'Hagan left as a full-time member in order to focus on his band the High Llamas, but continued to be a session musician for the band ever since.[4]

Composition

AllMusic critic Heather Phares characterised Mars Audiac Quintet as a more pop-oriented affair than previous Stereolab albums, noting that it largely highlights the band's brand of space age pop.[2]

The song "International Colouring Contest" is a tribute to Lucia Pamela and opens with a sample of her voice.[5]

Release

Mars Audiac Quartet was released on 2 August 1994 in the United States by Elektra Records,[6] and on 8 August 1994 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records.[7][8] It peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.[9] The tracks "Ping Pong" and "Wow and Flutter" were released as singles on 18 July 1994 and 17 October 1994, respectively.[7]

A remastered and expanded edition of Mars Audiac Quintet was released by Duophonic and Warp on 3 May 2019.[10]

Critical reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[12]
Pitchfork9.1/10[13]
Q[14]
Record Collector[15]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[16]
Select4/5[17]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[18]
Uncut8/10[19]

Richard Fontenoy, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, said that Mars Audiac Quintet elevated Stereolab "firmly into the higher stratum of indie pop".[1] In 2003, Pitchfork ranked Mars Audiac Quintet as the 78th best album of the 1990s.[20]

The American indie rock band Transona Five took their name from the title of the third track on the album.[21]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Three-Dee Melodie" 5:02
2."Wow and Flutter" 3:08
3."Transona Five" 5:32
4."Des étoiles électroniques" 3:20
5."Ping Pong" 3:02
6."Anamorphose" 7:33
7."Three Longers Later" 3:28
8."Nihilist Assault Group" 6:55
9."International Colouring Contest" 3:47
10."The Stars Our Destination" 2:58
11."Transporté sans bouger" 4:20
12."L'enfer des formes" 3:53
13."Outer Accelerator" 5:21
14."New Orthophony" 4:34
15."Fiery Yellow"
4:04
Total length:66:57
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Moogie Wonderland"3:35
Total length:70:32
Limited edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Klang Tone"5:36
2."Ulan Bator"3:14
Total length:8:50
2019 expanded edition bonus disc[22]
No.TitleLength
1."Ulan Bator"2:20
2."Klang Tone"5:38
3."Melochord Seventy-Five" (original Pulse version)5:32
4."Outer Accelerator" (original mix)6:05
5."Nihilist Assault Group – Part 6"2:13
6."Wow and Flutter" (7"/EP version – alternative mix)3:06
7."Des étoiles électroniques" (demo)1:25
8."Ping Pong" (demo)2:55
9."The Stars Our Destination" (demo)1:19
10."Three Longers Later" (demo)2:05
11."Transona Five" (demo)1:30
12."Transporté sans bouger" (demo)2:09
Total length:36:17

Sample credits[23]

  • "International Colouring Contest" contains a sample of Into Outer Space with Lucia Pamela, written by Lucia Pamela.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[24]

Stereolab

Additional musicians

  • Alan Carter – tenor saxophone, flute
  • Vera Daucher – violin
  • Jean-Baptiste Garnero – backing vocals on "Transporté sans bouger"
  • Lindsay Low – trumpet
  • Andy Robinson – trombone

Production

  • Steve Rooke – mastering
  • Stereolab (credited as "The Groop") – mixing
  • Paul Tipler – engineering, mixing
  • Nick Webb – mastering

Design

  • Peter Morris – photography
  • Trouble – layout

Charts
Chart (1994–2019) Peak
position
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[25] 76
Scottish Albums (OCC)[26] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[9] 16
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[27] 2
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[28] 92

References
  1. Fontenoy, Richard (2003). "Stereolab". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. pp. 1008–1010. ISBN 1-84353-105-4. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. Phares, Heather. "Mars Audiac Quintet – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  3. Pike, Martin (26 April 2019). "The Lab Report". The Lab Report. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  4. Phares, Heather. "Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  5. Mason, Stewart. "International Colouring Contest – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  6. Morris, Chris (25 June 1994). "Elektra's Stereolab Gets A Fresh Start On Lollapalooza 2nd Stage". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 26. p. 15. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. Pike, Martin (September 1994). "The Lab Report". The Lab Report. Archived from the original on 1 August 1997. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  8. Mars Audiac Quintet (press advertisement). Duophonic Records. 1994. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  9. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  10. "7 Albums To Be Reissued Via Warp And Duophonic UHF Disks". Warp. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  11. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). "Stereolab". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (concise 5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  12. Jackon, Devon (19 August 1994). "Mars Audiac Quintet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  13. Sherburne, Philip (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  14. "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Q. No. 97. October 1994. p. 126.
  15. Rathbone, Oregano (May 2019). "Laboratoire Granier". Record Collector. No. 492. pp. 96–97.
  16. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Stereolab". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 779–781. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  17. Wilkinson, Roy (September 1994). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Select. No. 51. p. 98.
  18. Strauss, Neil (1995). "Stereolab". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 375–376. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  19. Pattison, Louis (June 2019). "Stereolab: Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements / Mars Audiac Quintet". Uncut. No. 265. p. 49.
  20. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  21. Wilonsky, Robert (1 February 2007). "Transona Five's Chris Foley Died Sunday; Causes Still to Be Determined". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  22. "Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Expanded Edition)". Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  23. Mars Audiac Quintet (liner notes). Stereolab. Elektra Records. 1994. 61669-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. Mars Audiac Quintet (liner notes). Stereolab. Duophonic Records. 1994. D-UHF-CD05.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 35. 27 August 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  26. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  27. "Independent Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 27 August 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  28. "Stereolab Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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