Switched On (Reissue)

Originally released in 1992, Switched On collects Stereolab's earliest singles, capturing the group's hypnotic, driving sound in its infancy. Though they're more guitar-driven and rock-oriented than the band's later work, tracks like "Super-Electric" and "Au Grand Jour" prove that Stereolab's basic style - Krautrock lock-grooves, bubbling analog snyths, fuzzed out guitars and angelic vocals - arrived fully formed. "Doubt" and "Brittle" are among the group's most vibrant pop songs, while the eight minute "Contact" is a warm-up for the epics the band would include on albums like Transient Random Noise-Bursts With Announcements. Reflective pieces like "The Way Will Be Opening" and "High Expectation" show off Laetitia Sadier's coolly sophisticated, Nico-meets-Francoise Hardy vocals, while "The Light That Will Cease To Fail" manages to be poppy, kinetick, and bittersweet all at once.