Abstractions

Stereolab has always been one of those sum-of-its-parts bands. Spin-off groups like this are intriguing in a who-sounds-like-what-teamed-with-whom way. Europa 51 culls the talents of ‘Labbers Andy Ramsay and Simon Johns, kindred High Llamas John Bennett and Dominic Murcott, plus a handful of contributors including the departed Mary Hansen (the Stereolab multi-instrumentalist and noted vocal mono-syllabicist was killed in a bicycle accident last year). Sensibly, Abstractions has a soundtrack feel (the album does, after all, include a bonus 25-minute short scored by Europa 51). As you might infer from a congregation of Stereolab and High Llamas folks, a futurism-via-‘70s AM-pop vibe makes it excessively easy on the ears. . “Free Range Corona” embodies the album’s unspoken subtext best, however; something of a calliope-esque tribute to the Beatles’ “Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite” driven only by Hansen’s la-la-las, it progresses into something of a New Orleans funeral march, ensuring memories of Hansen will be happy ones.