Page "Stereolab" Paragraph 35

Stereolab have been called " one of the most influential alternative bands of the ' 90s ", and one of " the decade's most innovative British bands.

" Simon Reynolds commented in Rolling Stone that the group's earlier records form " an endlessly seductive body of work that sounds always the same, always different.

" In The Wire, Peter Shapiro compared the band favorably to Britpop bands Oasis and Blur, and defended their music against the charge that it is " nothing but the sum total of its arcane reference points.

" Stereolab were one of the first groups to be called post-rock — in a 1996 article, journalist Angela Lewis applied the " new term " to Stereolab and three other bands who have connections to the group.

The band's 1996 album Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their " high-water mark " according to critic Joshua Klein, was a critical success and underground hit.

Stereolab have also received negative press.

Barney Hoskyns questioned the longevity of their music in a 1996 Mojo review, saying that their records " sound more like arid experiments than music born of emotional need.

" In The Guardian, Dave Simpson stated: " With their borrowings from early, obscure Kraftwerk and hip obtuse sources, sound like a band of rock critics rather than musicians.

" Lætitia Sadier's vocals were cited by author Stuart Shea as often being " indecipherable.