by: Sun-J
It seems that pop has virtually gone global in these times. Stereo Total (pronounced tow-tall if you ever feel the desire to say it out loud) is a band with a palatte of different wordly influences. French, German, Turkish, Italian, English, and even a little bit of Japanese. Singer Francoise Cactus is vocally efficient in all these languages and delivers poppy tunes with a variety of dialects. Stereo Total is this electropop group's fifth album, and their the best to date. Originally released in 2001, the Kill Rock Stars label in Olympia, Washington picked them up, and has re-released Stereo Total along with five bonus tracks. Combined with Cactus' catchy vocals, live drums, guitar, sampling drum machines, and possibly sampling of video games such as Galaga, from start to finish Stereo Total is a transcendent listen. The first song on Musique Automatique is "Automatic Music." The lyrics are composed of words that end in -ique for the most part. "La musique/ Automatique/ La musique/ Nostalgique/ La musique/ Pathétique/ La musique/ Chaotique." "Kleptomane" seems to be a tribute to Winona Ryder, as the song lyrics are based around compulsive shoplifting, over a super melodic instrumental consisting of funky-spaced out sounds. "Wir Tanzem im 4-Eck" is the first of several German tracks, and loops around a Cactus vocal sample with intense drums. "Forever 16" seems to be the clear standout track. Completely in English, Cactus' witty lyrics, are reminiscent of many American female pop singers, except with a bit more sophistication, and a little less cliché; "No, I'm not a girlie . . . But you know it could be as well / If you call me mademoiselle." Stereo Total is a full listen that truly does bring the total game…Globally!
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