Stereolab

Not Music Duophonic UHF Disks ****

They announced an “indefinite hiatus” last year – but before  you get too excited, be warned that

Not Music

is not strictly new Stereolab material. Recorded during the same sessions that spawned  2008’s

Chemical Chords

, their 10th release is more of a bedfellow to that album, albeit one less

streaked with pop immediacy and more focused on rhythm and reflection. That said,

Supah Jaianto

and

Leleklato Sugar

are so enchantingly sanguine that they could soundtrack a Studio Ghibli cartoon, or perhaps an endearingly bungled chase scene from a 1970s sitcom. Their sunny disposition sits snugly alongside mesmerising remixes of cuts from

Chemical Chords

(

Silver Sands

and

Neon Beanbag

) and the rich instrumentation that floods this enormously likeable stopgap

of-sorts. Dismiss this as a desultory B-sides collection at your peril. See stereolab.com

Download tracks:

Leleklato Sugar, Supah Jaianto