Mars Audiac Quintet
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
RecordedMarch – April 1994
StudioBlackwing (London)
Genre
Length66:57
Label
Stereolab chronology
Ping Pong
(1994)		 Mars Audiac Quintet
(1994)		 Wow and Flutter
(1994)
Singles from Mars Audiac Quintet
  1. "Ping Pong"
    Released: 18 July 1994
  2. "Wow and Flutter"
    Released: 17 October 1994

Mars Audiac Quintet is the third studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 2 August 1994 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records.

Recording

Stereolab recorded Mars Audiac Quartet in March and April 1994.[4] Keyboardist Katharine Gifford joined the band for the recording of the album. During recording, guitarist Sean O'Hagan left as a full-time member in order to focus on his band the High Llamas, but continued to be a session musician for the band ever since.[5]

Composition

AllMusic critic Heather Phares characterised Mars Audiac Quintet as a more pop-oriented affair than previous Stereolab albums, noting that it largely highlights the band's brand of space age pop.[2]

The song "International Colouring Contest" is a tribute to Lucia Pamela and opens with a sample of her voice.[6]

Release

Mars Audiac Quartet was released on 2 August 1994 in the United States by Elektra Records,[7] and on 8 August 1994 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records.[8][9] It peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.[10] The tracks "Ping Pong" and "Wow and Flutter" were released as singles on 18 July 1994 and 17 October 1994, respectively.[8]

A remastered and expanded edition of Mars Audiac Quintet was released by Duophonic and Warp on 3 May 2019.[11]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[13]
Pitchfork9.1/10[14]
Q[15]
Record Collector[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[17]
Select4/5[18]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[19]
Uncut8/10[20]

Richard Fontenoy, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, said that Mars Audiac Quintet elevated Stereolab "firmly into the higher stratum of indie pop".[1] In 2003, Pitchfork ranked Mars Audiac Quintet as the 78th best album of the 1990s.[21]

The American indie rock band Transona Five took their name from the title of the third track on the album.[22]

Track listing

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

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Three-Dee Melodie" 5:02
2."Wow and Flutter" 3:08
3."Transona Five" 5:32
4."Des étoiles électroniques" 3:20
5."Ping Pong" 3:02
6."Anamorphose" 7:33
7."Three Longers Later" 3:28
8."Nihilist Assault Group" 6:55
9."International Colouring Contest" 3:47
10."The Stars Our Destination" 2:58
11."Transporté sans bouger" 4:20
12."L'enfer des formes" 3:53
13."Outer Accelerator" 5:21
14."New Orthophony" 4:34
15."Fiery Yellow"
4:04
Total length:66:57
Japanese edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
16."Moogie Wonderland"3:35
Total length:70:32
Limited edition bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Klang Tone"5:36
2."Ulan Bator"3:14
Total length:8:50
2019 expanded edition bonus disc[23]
No.TitleLength
1."Ulan Bator"2:20
2."Klang Tone"5:38
3."Melochord Seventy-Five" (original Pulse version)5:32
4."Outer Accelerator" (original mix)6:05
5."Nihilist Assault Group – Part 6"2:13
6."Wow and Flutter" (7"/EP version – alternative mix)3:06
7."Des étoiles électroniques" (demo)1:25
8."Ping Pong" (demo)2:55
9."The Stars Our Destination" (demo)1:19
10."Three Longers Later" (demo)2:05
11."Transona Five" (demo)1:30
12."Transporté sans bouger" (demo)2:09
Total length:36:17

Sample credits[24]

  • "International Colouring Contest" contains a sample of Into Outer Space with Lucia Pamela, written by Lucia Pamela.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[25]

Stereolab

Additional musicians

  • Alan Carter – tenor saxophone, flute
  • Vera Daucher – violin
  • Jean-Baptiste Garnero – backing vocals on "Transporté sans bouger"
  • Lindsay Low – trumpet
  • Andy Robinson – trombone

Production

  • Steve Rooke – mastering
  • Stereolab (credited as "The Groop") – mixing
  • Paul Tipler – engineering, mixing
  • Nick Webb – mastering

Design

  • Peter Morris – photography
  • Trouble – layout

Charts

Chart (1994) Peak
position
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[26] 76
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[10] 16
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28] 2
Chart (2019) Peak
position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 92

References

  1. 1 2 Fontenoy, Richard (2003). "Stereolab". In Buckley, Peter (ed.). The Rough Guide to Rock (3rd ed.). Rough Guides. pp. 1008–1010. ISBN 1-84353-105-4. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Phares, Heather. "Mars Audiac Quintet – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  3. ↑ Wener, Ben (1 January 1998). "Stereolab". In Knopper, Steve (ed.). MusicHound Lounge: The Essential Album Guide. Detroit: Visible Ink Press. pp. 448–450.
  4. ↑ Pike, Martin (26 April 2019). "The Lab Report". The Lab Report. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Mason, Stewart. "International Colouring Contest – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  7. ↑ Morris, Chris (25 June 1994). "Elektra's Stereolab Gets A Fresh Start On Lollapalooza 2nd Stage". Billboard. Vol. 106, no. 26. p. 15. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. 1 2 Pike, Martin (September 1994). "The Lab Report". The Lab Report. Archived from the original on 1 August 1997. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  9. ↑ Mars Audiac Quintet (press advertisement). Duophonic Records. 1994. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  11. ↑ "7 Albums To Be Reissued Via Warp And Duophonic UHF Disks". Warp. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). "Stereolab". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (concise 5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  13. ↑ Jackon, Devon (19 August 1994). "Mars Audiac Quintet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  14. ↑ Sherburne, Philip (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  15. ↑ "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Q. No. 97. October 1994. p. 126.
  16. ↑ Rathbone, Oregano (May 2019). "Laboratoire Granier". Record Collector. No. 492. pp. 96–97.
  17. ↑ Sarig, Roni (2004). "Stereolab". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 779–781. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  18. ↑ Wilkinson, Roy (September 1994). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Select. No. 51. p. 98.
  19. ↑ Strauss, Neil (1995). "Stereolab". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 375–376. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  20. ↑ Pattison, Louis (June 2019). "Stereolab: Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements / Mars Audiac Quintet". Uncut. No. 265. p. 49.
  21. ↑ "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Wilonsky, Robert (1 February 2007). "Transona Five's Chris Foley Died Sunday; Causes Still to Be Determined". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  23. ↑ "Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Expanded Edition)". Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  24. ↑ Mars Audiac Quintet (liner notes). Stereolab. Elektra Records. 1994. 61669-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ↑ Mars Audiac Quintet (liner notes). Stereolab. Duophonic Records. 1994. D-UHF-CD05.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ↑ "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 35. 27 August 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  27. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  28. ↑ "Independent Albums" (PDF). Music Week. 27 August 1994. p. 22. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  29. ↑ "Top Albums Sales: Week of May 18, 2019". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
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