Not Music

Background

Not Music was released in 2010, one year after Stereolab went on a hiatus. Most of the songs on the album were recorded in the same session as the band's previous album, Chemical Chords. The album also contained remixed versions of "Silver Sands" and "Neon Beanbag," two songs that previously appeared on Chemical Chords.

Reception

Not Music has received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a score of 70 out of 100, indicating "Generally favorable reviews."

Arnold Pan of PopMatters gave the album a positive review, writing "All in all, the catchiest tracks on Not Music make a good soundtrack for strolling down memory lane, with Stereolab offering fresh takes on old triumphs, rather than just reliving them." Rebecca Raber of Pitchfork Media was also positive, writing "I suspect it won't be long before we realize that the leftovers of a band like Stereolab are still better than main dishes offered up by many of their peers." The A.V. Club's Christian Williams wrote that while the record felt padded near the end, "[f]or reheated leftovers, however, Not Music is delicious."

In a more mixed review, Jon Falcone of Drowned in Sound wrote "Stereolab will always provide excitement, but in the past, part of that excitement came from a band having no idea of how they should sound, so that the result threw polemics and tangents together with an unmatched grace. Now it feels as though they’re comfortable in their skin. This is great for them, but for the listener it's a bitter sweet comfort and feels akin to insincerely wishing well to an ex who has happily moved on." Under the Radar's Hays Davis also gave the album a mixed review, writing "[...] Not Music is one of those albums of extras that disappointingly lays bare why these tracks were excluded from those that initially found a release."

Track listing

All songs written by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier.

1. "Everybody's Weird Except Me" – 3:34
2. "Supah Jaianto" – 5:07
3. "So Is Cardboard Clouds" – 3:49
4. "Equivalences" – 2:23
5. "Leleklato Sugar" – 3:04
6. "Silver Sands (Emperor Machine Mix)" – 10:20
7. "Two Finger Symphony" – 3:47
8. "Delugeoisie" – 3:41
9. "Laserblast" – 3:25
10. "Sun Demon" – 3:18
11. "Aelita" – 3:49
12. "Pop Molecules (Molecular Pop 2)" – 2:03
13. "Neon Beanbag (Atlas Sound Mix)" – 7:57

Personnel

The following people contributed to Not Music:

Stereolab

Additional personnel