Emperor tomato ketchup

"For a band sometimes dismissed as merely the sum of their influences, pilfered "record-collector rock," the album that proved they could do anything ends by offering a new way forward. It's an invocation that honors the definitional power of pleasure yet insists on its mystery. Shuji Terayama's tiny fascists in Tomato Kecchappu Kôtei might have fallen victim to their self-indulgence, but Stereolab had higher hopes. Pleasure might not bring capitalism down, but it can definitely lift us up".

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"The album bridged the gap between the fuzzed out Krautrock of the band's early period and the synth-squiggled psychedelia that followed. From the hip-hop strut of opener "Metronomic Underground" to the fidgety exotica of "Percolator" to the anti-capitalist nursery rhymes of "Motoroller Scalatron," Emperor Tomato Ketchup is filled with peculiar juxtapositions and an unpredictable patchwork of influences. These blend together seamlessly with the jazzy input of producer John McEntire (of the Sea & Cake). Even 23 years later, it still sounds bold and futuristic ... Sure, the extra tracks don't add all that much to the experience, but when are a classic record's bonus tracks ever essential? The original album was already a masterpiece that achieved the ultimate goal of any great postmodern pop: reassembling pieces of the past into something subversive and new".

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