Amusing. Just amusing. Yes, amusing. Anything wrong with that? I hope not, because it's the best description I can come up with for Stereolab. It's retro, it's metro. It's kitschy, it's flirty. It's cool, it's sensual. It's charming, it's flamboyant. It's brainy with balls, tacky and wacky, and all of that in stereo! Forgive me for being so lyrical, it's just that I've been waiting for spring for such a fucking long time, and – from a musical point of view – Fab Four Suture is a little like the beginning of spring. After all, the music on this record is so light it makes the clouds disappear and lets the sun shine again... But I guess it's time to snap out of this lyrical mood now, before any unsuspecting readers start confusing this review with some kind of posthumously published Barbara Cartland novel...
So let's get back to business. This album is a collection of 7-inches and previously unreleased tracks, which is why some sources call it incoherent. But then again, so is George Bush whenever he opens his mouth, and millions of people still believe he's a great president, right? Anyway, it didn't really bother me, and in my opinion this is a normal/full Stereolab-album. They've been around for 15 years now, and in that time they have released about 18 albums. In my opinion, Fab Four Suture should definitely not feel inferior to the ones that came before.
The Pinbackian Whisper Pitch , the Belle & Sebastianian pop on Eye of the Volcano , the nutty samba-with-punky-ending on Excursions into Oh-a-Oh , the moody and experimental Widow Weirdo ; it all sounds excellent again and also... amusing. Or what did you expect?
Fab Four Suture may not contain the most innovative music on the market, but this album proves that Stereolab are still standing strong after all those years of hardship (e.g. the death of Mary Hansen, whose past artistic contributions should not be underestimated). In other words: highly recommendable material for fans of, amongst others, Yo la Tengo, krautrock, Tortoise, Belle & Sebastian, Notwist, Brigitte Bardot, the swinging sixties, bleeps,... and anyone who enthusiastically welcomes the spring.