Emperor Tomato Ketchup

Double vinyl LP pressing of this 1996 album from the British Indie band. Stereolab's fourth full-length, Emperor Tomato Ketchup marked the point where the band evolved from a purely underground phenomenon to an important pop group capable of selling albums while keeping their hipness and integrity intact. At the time of it's release, it was simultaneously their most experimental and most accessible release, with the deliberate raw textures of earlier works replaced by a more polished vibe. The album was also their greatest success to date both commercially and critically, and remains a consensus favorite even now. Continuing to mine the music of the '60s and early '70s, Stereolab employs Farfisas and Moog's, melodies from Bacharach and Hardy, soft-rock, bubblegum, dub and hip-hop sounds to augment their core influences of krautrock, punk, jazz and space rock.