Le Super Homard - Maple Key

Somehow, during the course of listening to this album, I went from comparing it to Stereolab, to thinking it must somehow be former members of Stereolab with a new vocalist. The similarity is that striking. But no, this is a brand new group, who seem to have merely studied at the feet of that august electronic outfit.

I think 'Dry Salt in Our Hair' is really the tune that had me convinced of this false reality. The groovy little electronics, the oddly meandering vocals, it's all here. But plenty of other songs use the same elements, giving the album an electro loungy feel at times. To be sure, it has its more psych moments as well, with reverbing keys taking turns with the sparkling, chiming, percussive melodies.

I will say, since I was so primed for Stereolab, the vocals threw me off a bit here and there. There's nothing wrong with them, but they do lack the exotic creaminess of Lætitia Sadier. And there's much less of a politically charged angle to the lyrics. On the title track, for example, the group proclaims "just trying to make it out through the keyhole / bushes, trees, and grass... a maple tree, tall and thin / swinging from side to side in the wind". It doesn't get much more innocent.

And this is a mostly sweet and innocent affair. It's like feeling dappled sunight on your face as you relax under said maple tree. And the band does break out of its electro psych haze occasionally, such as on 'Bituminized', but only to start channeling that other French electronic titan, Air, with super mellow acoustic guitar and a simple synchopated beat. And even this one finds itself adding back in the semi-sampled synth horns that Stereolab favored.

The entire set amounts to easy listening electro pop with some headnodic elements. There's nothing obnoxious or offensive to be found, but very little that really grabs you either. It's short too, with eight tracks clocking in at barely 23 minutes, so that each track doesn't have much time to establish itself before it's hazily blending into the next. Essentially, if you like Stereolab, this is a no brainer. Or if you crave being swept up in a swirly, mellow, electro breeze, this is the album for you.