Mojo Reviews Stereo Total Yéyé Existentialiste

Published on 1st August 2015

Media title : Mojo

Author : Daryl Easlea

A thorough exploration of la Musique Automatique.
Subtitled ’28 Lo-Fi International Underground Hits’, Yeye Existentialiste provides an ideal introduction for the two-decade-long career of Stereo Total. Initially blossoming on the margins of Britpop, the Berlin-based French-German duo of Francoise Cactus and Brezel Goring brought tenderness ,humour and imperfection to their noise. With intriguingly minimalist arrangements, tracks such as Musique Automatique and Dactylo Rock – a song that features a typewriter solo -are enthralling. Their covers are particularly well chosen. A version of The Plastics’ I Love You Ono was used as the theme for Channel 4’s Anna & Katy sketch show and the powerpop explosion of Heroes provides a secret weapon for filling a dancefloor. With Errol Brown’s passing, their skeletal reading of one of his finest songs, Heaven Is In The Back Seat Of My Cadillac, should be on playlists right across the summer.