After recording the group's first record,
Modern Meta Physic, all by himself,
Peel Dream Magazine's Joe Stevens looked to others such as multi-instrumentalist
Kelly Winrich and vocalist Jo-Anne Hyun to help with the quest of making the band sound as much like early-period
Stereolab as humanly possible. The songs here have uniformly light and chugging rhythms, warm layers of vintage organs, ringing guitars, and looping vocal harmonies and could all have slotted in on side two of
Peng! with no difficulties. Some of the tracks capture the up-tempo side of
Stereolab perfectly, like "Emotional Devotion Creator," which comes complete with a driving motorik beat and an organ sound
Jon Lord would appreciate. Others nail the breezy, stuck-in-a-dream sound the group did so well. "It's My Body" and "Permanent Moral Crisis" are fine examples. There are a few stray moments of shoegaze that pop up here and there, and the record is a nice mix of space age instrumentation, sweetly sung tunes, and gently hooky melodies. It's clear that Stevens is adept at making a superb-sounding record, and his love of
Stereolab comes through loud and clear. ~ Tim Sendra