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Stereolab chanteuse Laetitia Sadier unveils third Monade album - and it's a trans-Euro cosmic monster.

Much anticipated third full length album from Too Pures' Monade finds singer and all-round talent Laetitia Sadier - together with multi-instrumentalist Joe Watson (both from Stereolab) being joined by Marie Merlet (on the bass guitar), Nicolas Etienne (on keyboards and occassional guitars), David Loquier (behind the drums), to create something rather moody...

First Class

The not-so-swift follow up to March 2005's first class collection A Few Steps More (pictured below, left) new album Monstre Cosmic features plenty of 'Stereolab-esque' driving guitars/keyboards and electronica-based outer space sounds, not to mention guest vocals from Rachel Ortas (of Luna Parker) and a string section - courtesy of the Bordeaux Conservatoire (whereabouts the band are based) no less!

Fans of virtually anything in the hip end of electronica - from Delia Derbyshire's other-worldly music of the spheres to Birmingham's Pram, Warp artists Broadcast or Liverpools's Ladytron - to the more 'chilled-out' end of krautrock or the Durrutti Column (and, of course Stereolab themselves) will find plenty to please their ears here.

Simon Price, writing in The Independent newspaper (Sunday, 17 February 2008), called the new album "deeply filmic...(it) might have been teleported into the new millennium from an old Godard or Truffaut movie. Sadier alternates between English and her native tongue from song to song, but...is thoroughly French. The sort of record you wish could follow you around, like your favourite perfume."

Socialisme ou Barbarie

Closer in tone to the bands' terrific debut on Drag City in 2003 (the wonderful Socialisme ou Barbarie: The Bedroom Recordings) than the last record - and perhaps closer to the Stereolab sound than either of them - this is nevertheless the kind of eclectic, bilingual Euro (disko) gem we've come to expect from Laetitia Sadier - inventive, tuneful and (at times) predictably unpredictable.

The full tracklisting for Monades' new long-player looks like this:

1. Noir-Noir
2. Etoile
3. Lost Language
4. Elle Topo
5. Messe Joyeuse
6. Regarde
7. Invitation
8. Tout En Tout Est Un
9. Entre Chien Et Loup
10. Change Of Destination
11. White Light (hidden track)
12. Change Of Destination Again

Monade ar on tour in Europe currently - with three dates in the UK at the end of the month/start of March:

28 February - Brighton Komedia
29 February - London Borderline
1 March - Glasgow Sleazys

Follow this link to an interview on Beggars Banquet USA in which the band talk about the making of the new recordings.

Follow this link to Pitchfork Media - who are offering track number six (Regarde) to listen to for free!

For more information on Monade, visit their home on Too Pure: www.toopure.com/monade

Visit Monade's Myspace here: www.myspace.com/monade

Monstre Cosmic is in the shops now - on CD and vinyl LP, from Too Pure/Duophonic.

PSP Ltd is not responsible for the contents of external websites. Band photo by Florent Mazzoleni.

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