Not Music

Not Music is the tenth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 16 November 2010 by Drag City and Duophonic Records.[1] The album is a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as their previous album Chemical Chords (2008).[2]

Not Music
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released16 November 2010 (2010-11-16)
Recorded2007–2009
Studio
  • Instant Zero Studios, France
  • Press Play Recording Studio, London
Length56:17
Label
Stereolab chronology
Chemical Chords
(2008)		 Not Music
(2010)

Background

Not Music was released in 2010, one year after Stereolab went on a hiatus. Most of the songs on the album were recorded during the same sessions as the band's previous album, Chemical Chords.[3] The album also contained remixed versions of "Silver Sands" and "Neon Beanbag", two songs that previously appeared on 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[2]
PopMatters8/10[12]
Q[13]
Record Collector[14]
Uncut[15]

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

Arnold Pan of PopMatters gave the album a positive review, writing "All in all, 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."[12] 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."[2] The A.V. Club's Christian Williams wrote that while the record felt padded near the end, "[f]or reheated leftovers, however, 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."[16] 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."[17]

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 for Not Music adapted from album liner notes.[18]

Charts
Chart (2010) Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[19] 36
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] 20

References
  1. "Stereolab reveal details of Not Music LP". Fact. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  2. Raber, Rebecca (16 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  3. Breihan, Tom (1 June 2010). "New Stereolab Music on the Way". Pitchfork. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  4. Katzif, Michael (7 November 2010). "First Listen: Stereolab, Not Music". NPR. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  5. "Not Music by Stereolab reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  6. "Reviews for Not Music by Stereolab". Metacritic. Retrieved 14 March 2012.
  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. 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. Pan, Arnold (15 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  13. "Stereolab: Not Music". Q. No. 293. December 2010. p. 114.
  14. Kennedy, Jake (December 2010). "Stereolab – Not Music". Record Collector. No. 382. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  15. "Stereolab: Not Music". Uncut. No. 163. December 2010. p. 106.
  16. Falcone, Jon (12 November 2010). "Album Review: Stereolab – Not Music". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  17. Davis, Hays (16 November 2010). "Stereolab: Not Music (Drag City)". Under the Radar. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  18. Not Music (liner notes). Stereolab. Drag City. 2010. DC430CD.CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  20. "Stereolab Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
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