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Nov 29, 2010This is Stereolab for the age of the short attention span; but if it's a swan song, it's just as representative of the band's body of work as anything in its 20-year catalog.
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The WireDec 22, 2010The polished arrangements, alien harmonies and attention to detail that have characterised Stereolab output over the years are all present and to the usual high standard. [Nov 2010, p.60]
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Dec 22, 2010It's heady stuff with plenty of detours and time changes.
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Nov 16, 2010With the veteran experimentalists on a self-imposed hiatus--and now a drummer light--Not Music offers a stopgap if not a final full stop to a kaleidoscopic career.
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Nov 15, 2010As always, the British-French band has crafted upbeat, bubbly, retro-futuristic songs from strands of krautrock, lounge, French cafe music, and samba.
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Nov 15, 2010In the end, it's not such a bad thing that Not Music shows Stereolab fans that they didn't always fully appreciate what they had until it was gone, even though a lesson like this can only come when it's too late
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Nov 16, 2010For reheated leftovers, however, Not Music is delicious.
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Nov 16, 2010Stereolab's last effort was among the most concise and tightly focused of the band's career, distilling their baroque, buzzing aesthetic into breathless, three-minute pop songs. Not Music mostly echoes that change, but also sprawls like vintage Stereolab when it needs to.
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Nov 23, 2010With any luck, Stereolab's hiatus will prove to be temporary, but if Not Music is the epitaph of their career, it is a suitably dignified (if not emphatic) one.
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Nov 22, 2010The signature post-rock and cleverly monotonous Stereolab aesthetic is still present, and continues to be refreshingly innovative.
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Nov 19, 2010Not Music is all over the place in the best possible way, and fans who love Stereolab's gracefully intellectual side will especially appreciate it.
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Alternative PressNov 17, 2010Chalk a point in the "win" column for the old school. [Dec 2010, p.116]
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Nov 17, 2010The melody is maintained, with the only difference between the two sections is a very pregnant pause added to the notes, the whole of robotic Europop from the '70s lodged into one oversized chrome éclair.
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Nov 15, 2010Despite its unprepossessing title, Not Music is put together as meticulously as any Stereolab album released during the band's 18 years of service.
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Nov 15, 2010They may be a one trick pony, but these 2008 recordings show that Stereolab are good at what they do.
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Nov 11, 2010So does the oddly titled Not Music hold any surprises? Yes and no: Stereolab's signature sound is very much present and correct, but this record doesn't sound like the last gasp of a long-lived and generally much-loved band.
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Nov 22, 2010Inasmuch as Stereolab have accomplished pretty much everything they could, Not Music feels like a passive retread.