Meandering Music

It's easy to get a bit exasperated with the restrictions of the two-and-a-half minute pop song. The initial sugar rush can leave the listener with a bit of a crash after the song ends.

So when that happens, it's time to turn to something different. And one really good option is Stereolab, a band with serious indie pop credentials that takes its time before finishing a tune.

They played at Nokia Live on Saturday with Sam Prekop opening up, making for an irresistible set of the best lounge pop the world has to offer.

Prekop was joined by fellow Sea and Cake member Archer Prewitt who explored the atmosphere of rock alone on stage, delving into thinky guitar work for minutes on end before breaking the trance of their music with words. I wanted more and more of this gentle music. And I could have had that, had I not wait so long on the outside of Nokia for a friend who was late to the show. A bit of advice --- when attending a show at this venue, have a ridiculous $12 in your pocket to pay for parking and show up on time because the bands always get on stage down to the scheduled second.

Stereolab --- all seven of them --- filled up the large Nokia stage. And they filled the auditorium up even better with their sound, maybe too much as the volume was a little loud for their meandering brand of pop. And there was some serious problems with their amplifiers as between song there was a buzz coming through the monitor that caused lead singer Laetitia Sadier to have a long conversation in a heated French accent with the soundman. That conversation didn't seem to solve the problem.

So maybe it was best that Vonal Declosion, and Eye of the Volcano, and French Disko were turned up to 11 to overcome the buzz in the system.

Admittedly, I'm a bit late to the Stereolab experience, which is surprising, considering their origins. The group was formed by Tim Gane, who back in the mid-1980s was the leader of McCarthy, one of the pack of bands that are representative of the Britain's C-86 jangle pop movement. I am a certifiable C-86 junkie. So the best part of the show for me was hearing Gane combine the still jangley rhythm of his guitar alternatively with a French horn, trombone and synthesizer.

Those who came to Nokia looking for something different got it. Now, if they could just get those sound bugs taken care of.