I have been listening to Midnight Movies for quite sometime now but only last Saturday on my way back home in the Komuter while listening to Midnight Movies' Coral Den I realized that they sound very similar to Stereolab - in the way how they put the melodic vocal part of Gena Olivier over the droning background. Even her voice sounds somewhat similar to that of Laetitia Sadier's. So I thought it would be interesting if I do a little 'compare & contrast' (again) in between Midnight Movies and Stereolab. I'm not sure if I am good to be considered a Stereolab fan but I sure do like their music. Having not listened to all of their previous releases, the only Stereolab moment that I can relate with Midnight Movies is from their third album Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, released in 1993. I listened to the album for a few times last night and after much hesitation I decided that I should just post any song from this album that I like and say: Voila! I thought I remember one song from this album that sounds very similar to Midnight Movie's Coral Den but after re-listening back to the album, I couldn't work it out at all (although now I think track no.2 Our Trinitone Blasts is the track that I've been looking for). Track no.6 from Midnight Movies' second album Lion the Girl released in 2007. Of all the bands/artists that makes up a list of my favorite bands, Stereolab I reckon has got to be the most eclectic of all. Allmusicguide reckons Stereolab as "the most influential alternative bands of the 90's". Formed in London in 1991 by (band leader) Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, Stereolab is one of the most wide-ranging experimental band the world has ever witnessed. Combining the aesthetic of Krautrock from bands like Faust and Neu! and the sensibilities of pop music like bossa nova, lounge pop, and movie soundtrack, they have created a trademark distinctive music style by overlaying a melodic vocal part over a droning rhythm part. I have posted here track 4 from the album Transient Random-Noise... At least I thought it would give you a rough idea on how Midnight Movies and Stereolab sounds alike. Another aspect of Stereolab's experimental-ness is their recording method - they "relied heavily on forgotten methods of recording, whether it was analog synthesizers and electronics or a fondness for hi-fi test records..." (quoted from allmusicguide). For example, the song that I have posted above, although the bitrate says it's 128 the sound quality is a bit lower than that. I ripped the song direct from my CD and what you hear from the mp3 above is exactly what I hear from my CD.
I miss my old listening-to-Stereolab days. I think I'll give Stereolab a spin tonight and drown in the droning noise and peruse over Sadier's political lyrics. Though they may be Marxist of some sort, I don't care, Stereolab is definitely one of my favorite (and most unlikely choice) band.