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Pompous is more like it.
I suppose it was inevitable, but to hear such a glaringly blatant rip-off of Stereolab‘s Mars Audiac Quintet just flat out turns my stomach. It’s one thing to use Stereolab as a reference/influence, but to just swipe chord-change for chord-change is simply unforgivable.
It’s true that Stereolab borrowed heavily from Neu! and even early English punk, but the key word is borrowed, not stole. This album isn’t bad, I just feel like I’m listening to Mars Audiac Quintet which makes it completely irrelevant. The point is to draw from influences, i.e., learn from them, see what works and what doesn’t in your own personal music language, NOT completely steal a clearly established sound.
If you’re looking for a vapid rehashing of Stereolab circa Mars Audiac Quintet, you won’t mind blowing your hard-earned wages on this completely unoriginal collection of Finnish lounge-pop. Honestly, you may as well just buy another copy of MAQ and call it a day. You’d probably be better off.
