| Artist | Stereolab |
| Title | Dots and Loops |
| Label | Duophonic |
| Year | 1997 |
| Design | Julian House |
| Music | Retro-futurist/French pop/Bernard Parmegiani-inspired |
| Desktop | Download image |
| Notes | Stereolab’s music tends to divide people into ardent fans and those who just don’t get the point and don’t see why they should. Hard Format falls firmly into the former. Then, within the fan camp, there are those who favour the early work. Dots and Loops and Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (another candidate for best album title of all time) are this website’s favourites, dating from a little over the mid-point of the band’s career. Sadly, Stereolab declared itself on indefinite hiatus as of last year.
The subject of this post is an absolute delight to the eye and ear. Who could help but smile at Julian House’s playful, brilliant diagrammatic reductions, part Op Art, part wiring diagram. The matching, coloured vinyl is a delight to slide out from the sleeve, place upon the turntable and watch spin as Stereolab’s warm, analogue sounds unwind out of the record’s grooves. Do also take a look at the collection of the group’s other releases just published here to coincide with this post. |
| Listen | Stereolab – Brakhage |
| Also | – Stereolab cover design collection – The Advisory Circle – Mind how you go (Revised edition) – Ghost Box |
