Not Music

Not Music is the tenth and most recent studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 16 November 2010 by Drag City and Duophonic Records. The album is a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as their previous album, Chemical Chords (2008).

Not Music
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released16 November 2010 (2010-11-16)
Recorded2007–2009
Studio
  • Instant Zero (France)
  • Press Play (London)
GenrePost-rock[1]
Length56:17
Label
Stereolab chronology
Chemical Chords
(2008)		 Not Music
(2010)		 Electrically Possessed
(2021)

Background

Most of the songs on Not Music were recorded during the same sessions as Stereolab's previous album Chemical Chords.[2] The album also contains remixed versions of "Silver Sands" and "Neon Beanbag", two songs that previously appeared on Chemical Chords.[3]

Not Music was released by Drag City and Stereolab's self-operated label Duophonic Records on 16 November 2010, during the band's indefinite hiatus following the 2008 release of Chemical Chords.[4]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.5/10[5]
Metacritic70/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
The A.V. ClubB[8]
The Guardian[9]
The Irish Times[10]
NME7/10[11]
Pitchfork7.5/10[12]
PopMatters8/10[13]
Q[14]
Record Collector[15]
Uncut[16]

Not Music received generally positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregate website Metacritic, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[6]

Arnold Pan of PopMatters found that "the catchiest tracks on Not Music make a good soundtrack for strolling down memory lane, with Stereolab offering fresh takes on old triumphs, rather than just reliving them."[13] Rebecca Raber of Pitchfork was also positive, writing, "I suspect it won't be long before we realize that the leftovers of a band like Stereolab are still better than main dishes offered up by many of their peers."[12] AllMusic critic Heather Phares described Not Music as being "all over the place in the best possible way", noting that it would especially appeal to listeners interested in "Stereolab's gracefully intellectual side".[7] The A.V. Club's Christian Williams said that while the record felt padded near the end, "[f]or reheated leftovers... Not Music is delicious."[8]

In a mixed review, Jon Falcone of Drowned in Sound wrote, "Stereolab will always provide excitement, but in the past, part of that excitement came from a band having no idea of how they should sound, so that the result threw polemics and tangents together with an unmatched grace. Now it feels as though they're comfortable in their skin. This is great for them, but for the listener it's a bitter sweet comfort and feels akin to insincerely wishing well to an ex who has happily moved on."[17] Under the Radar writer Hays Davis was more critical, describing Not Music as "one of those albums of extras that disappointingly lays bare why these tracks were excluded from those that initially found a release."[18]

Track listing

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Everybody's Weird Except Me" 3:34
2."Supah Jaianto" 5:07
3."So Is Cardboard Clouds" 3:49
4."Equivalences"Gane2:23
5."Leleklato Sugar" 3:04
6."Silver Sands" (Emperor Machine mix) 10:20
7."Two Finger Symphony" 3:47
8."Delugeoisie" 3:41
9."Laserblast" 3:25
10."Sun Demon" 3:18
11."Aelita" 3:49
12."Pop Molecules (Molecular Pop 2)" 2:03
13."Neon Beanbag" (Atlas Sound mix) 7:57
Total length:56:17
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Neon Beanbag" (Atlas Sound Southern Baptist remix)4:33
Total length:60:50

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[19]

Stereolab

Additional musicians

Production

  • Atlas Sound – remixing on "Neon Beanbag" (Atlas Sound mix)
  • The Emperor Machine – remixing on "Silver Sands" (Emperor Machine mix)
  • Bo Kondren (credited as "Bo") – mastering
  • Stereolab (credited as "The Groop") – mixing
  • Joe Watson – engineering, mixing

Design

  • Vee – sleeve design

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[20] 36
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[21] 20

References
  1. Cuellar, Jorge (22 November 2010). "Stereolab – Not Music". Urb. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. Breihan, Tom (1 June 2010). "New Stereolab Music on the Way". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  3. Katzif, Michael (7 November 2010). "First Listen: Stereolab, 'Not Music'". NPR. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  4. "Stereolab reveal details of Not Music LP". Fact. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  5. "Not Music by Stereolab reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. "Not Music by Stereolab Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  7. Phares, Heather. "Not Music – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  8. Williams, Christian (16 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  9. Costa, Maddy (11 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  10. Murphy, Lauren (12 November 2010). "Stereolab". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  11. MacBain, Hamish (12 November 2010). "Album Review: Stereolab – Not Music (Duophonic UHF Disks)". NME. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  12. Raber, Rebecca (16 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  13. Pan, Arnold (14 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". PopMatters. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  14. "Stereolab: Not Music". Q. No. 293. December 2010. p. 114.
  15. Kennedy, Jake (December 2010). "Not Music | Stereolab". Record Collector. No. 382. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  16. Troussé, Stephen (December 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". Uncut. No. 163. p. 106.
  17. Falcone, Jon (12 November 2010). "Album Review: Stereolab – Not Music". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 20 June 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  18. Davis, Hays (16 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music (Drag City)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  19. Not Music (liner notes). Stereolab. Drag City. 2010. DC430CD.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  20. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  21. "Stereolab Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
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