Stereolab, unmistakable and combative (★★★✩✩), and other albums of the week
One of the things that has always remained constant in Stereolab's DNA is their political stance. They rarely shy away from the issue one way or another, and on this occasion, they make it clear from the very beginning, a start that sonically opens the door to chaos and distortion for less than a minute, before diving into a recommendable array of delicacies, most of them recognizable but none of them indigestible. That's a credit—or not—since Instant Holograms... marks their return to the recording scene after fifteen years of silence.
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There they are, concocting this sonic-ideological menu, the duo formed by Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane. Although they tasted popular recognition in the mid-nineties, they have always followed their own path, avoiding being tossed in tow, even if at one time they were associated with Britpop, perhaps only by coincidence in time. In any case, their sonic formula is still here, undoubtedly attractive but also invariable, with those voices that intertwine with each other or with their characteristic sonic blanket. There, pop, funk, synthetic and rock go hand in hand in typically Stereolabian pieces such as Colour television, Electrified teenybop! or Vermona f transistor , where the well-constructed melodies that house Sadier's cool tone serve as her other maxim, sometimes all too present and immutable: the critique of the present, its ways and customs ( Esemplastic creeping eruption ).
These New Puritans ★★★★✩Pop-rockDomino Crooked Wing
'Crooked Wing'
After a six-year hiatus, the Barnett brothers return with music that's becoming increasingly sophisticated. This time, the often subtle attention to detail creates a captivating atmosphere that oscillates between the slow and melodious (Waiting and Bells ), the energetic ( A Season in Hell ), and the blend of textures (the outstanding Industrial Love Song with Caroline Polachek).
Samantha Hudson★★✩✩✩Pop-ELECTROSubterfuge Music for dolls
'Music for Dolls'
According to the Gen Z queer icon, it's "nine songs that narrate the experiences of a dissident pursuing her dreams in the big city." A step forward in her songwriting career (Disforia) in the form of realistic songs with predictable, very bakalao-esque sounds, with collaborations with Zahara (shaping Liturgia) and La Zowi.
GUITARRICADELAfuente★★★★✩Pop-folkSony Spanish Leather
Spanish Leather
A meeting of contemporary sounds with warm, increasingly refined lyrics in the form of twelve capsules with a personal, if not erotic-sexual, profile, gravitating around the axis of desire and love, sometimes with a hint of self-parody. Sound distortions, autotune, and even analog instrumentation adorn pieces like Port Pelegrí, Mataleón , and the magnificent Full Time Papi.
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