Stereolab, Memorials @ Content – 15/11/2023

At the risk of getting shouted down here, I’d wager that even Stereolab’s most ardent supporters aren’t fully across the band’s wide-spanning body of work. It’s exactly the reason why the Anglo-French odyssey is so unique.

The Mecca for all crate diggers, everyone has their own Stereolab experience. Their discography, a pure choose-your-own-adventure scenario whereby a listener can explore through one of many sound portals the band has produced during their reign.

Mine was via the three-disc Oscillations from the Anti-Sun compilation, which, at the time, felt as well-rounded as the band’s actual albums. The release had it all, and while the best compilations are often the sharpest snapshots of a band, in true Stereolab fashion, little did I know that the compilation was merely one of many. A band steeped in punk ethos, never to wholly conform to the ‘album/tour cycle, the compilation wasn’t an all-encompassing adventure – it was in fact just the start of it. One of the many layers that made up one of the most forward-thinking bands of our generation.

Stereolab: Electrically Possessed: Switched On Vol. 4 – “pristine and almost hallucinogenic”

Which brings us to the Stereolab live performance. In short, it’s a celebration. A pilgrimage where everyone’s own stories form a tableau that is truly one its kind.

Having seen Stereolab four years ago, so mind-blowingly assured, I made the choice never to revisit them in such arenas. You can’t beat perfect, however with the band playing a rare Liverpool show at the new live music venue, Content, barely stone’s throw away, and the pull is all too fierce.

First up is Memorials, featuring Electrane’s Verity Susman and Matthew Simms of Wire, It Hugs Back and Better Corners. A duo drawing from the core of kraut-rock with electro-infused jams selected from their Music For Film… releases, it sets the vibe for what’s to come.

And the wait isn’t long, as Stereolab nonchalantly take the stage. Led by Lætitia Sadier and Tim Gane, the band begin dispensing the cosmic fairy dust with Cobra and Phases’… beautiful closing track, the surf-rock serenade, Come and Play in the Milky Night. It’s a start that suggests that we’re not in for a ‘best-of’ kind of night, and why would be? After all, this is a band that has made curve balls their virtue, and the next one is the Eastern psych echo of Eye of the Volcano – a song fitting for these times (“Hypocrisy of our time / So in love with freedom / Who really wants it dead”).

With the stage bathed in soft purples and greens, the first of the long-form jams arrives with Refractions in the Plastic Pulse. Like a drug-induced dream state, the band are locked in the hypnotic grooves of kraut-rock in what forms into a post-jazz wig out. Which is fitting that one of the band’s finest cuts, Lo Boob Oscillator, follows. Often the seminal closer within the Stereolab live canon, the wonderful shifts in tempo are underpinned by drummer Andy Ramsay in what is a motorik blur.

And while they may get away without playing Brakhage on the night, Miss Modular makes up for it, as Sadier’s voice washes over the crowd nicely. So too Mountain that is far more gnarled in the live capsule, as Gane gives the track the visceral, open chord treatment.

Powers / Pulice / Rolin: Prism

Meanwhile, Harmonium sees keyboardist Joseph Watson have some time in spotlight; his vast array of synths purring up a storm, and as the band drifts through the cinematic haze of The Flower Called Nowhere and Pack Yr Romantic Mind, it’s the tour-de-force of Super-Electric that whips the crowd up into a frenzy. It’s one of those moments where the person standing next to you completely losing their mind is as mesmerising as watching the actual noise exponents.

Encores are always a funny thing, but Stereolab make it worth it with French Disko and a mash-up of their collaboration of Similar Headphone Mind and Excursions Into “Oh A-Oh”. In truth, it’s presented as a rolling long-form trip, encapsulating the Stereolab experience. Pure, open-source psychedelia, and as the healthy crowd disperses from Content all smiles, it confirms Stereolab as true memory makers.

Tonight is not only a win for all concerned, but it confirms that live music still maintains a power like no other. So too does Stereolab, who reaffirm their position as one the best live acts on the planet. There really is no other band like them.

Photos by John Johnson.