STEREOLAB @ ORAN MOR, GLASGOW 16/12/08

A near capacity crowd packs into this converted church in Glasgow's West End. Since 1990 Stereolab must have filled nearly every decent sized venue in the city thanks to their poppy krautrock influenced tunes finding a loyal fan base.
Quality support tonight comes in the shape of hotly tipped North-East band The Week That Was who romp through the entirety of their acclaimed debut album.

French singer Laetitia Sadier's appearance on stage is greeted with enthusiastic applause. With her patterned blouse and big skirt she looks like she's dressed for a party in the 1970s. Stereolab's other founding member Tim Gane is content to stand at the back of the stage shaking his head back and forth as he plays guitar.

Tonight's show is in support of their ninth album 'Chemical Chords' and it comprises much of the 90 minute set, although the band do throw in plenty of the old favourites to keep the long-time fans happy.

The opening track from the new album, 'Neon Beanbag' sees Sadier dance around, gently swinging her arms, like that party has just kicked off. She speaks very little between songs, only once does she attempt to engage the audience by telling us how wonderful she finds Glasgow as a city.

At times the band plays a drums and bass heavy beat which gets the mainly middle-aged audience moving.

Although the show highlights their latest album the biggest response from the crowd arrives for two songs that are over a decade old in 'Ping Pong' and 'French Disko'.

'Percolator' and 'Lo Boob Oscillator' are among the other highlights of their upbeat set.

With 18 years in the business Stereolab are unlikely to be acquiring new fans at any great rate. However, with such a solid live show on offer you could do much worse than check them out the next time they're in your town.

By Tom Brogan

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON THIS ARTIST