Pulse Of The Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5] cover

Pulse Of The Early Brain [Switched On Volume 5]

Released

Five volumes on, and there’s still more to mop up from the Stereolab story. Pulse of the Early Brain is worth it for their second Nurse With Wound collaboration, “Simple Headphone Mind,” which is hypnotic and playful in an early Kraftwerk style, and the drone-garage surrealism of 1992’s “Low Fi” EP. But it also compiles, finally, their utterly bonkers Godz cover, “ABC (The Multitude),” some stray demos that are tender and muted, extra material from the Chemical Chords/Not Music sessions, and more. Pointing towards the more experimental side of Stereolab’s oeuvre, but finishing up with an energetic, feisty live performance of “Cybele’s Reverie,” Pulse of the Early Brain transcends its compilation status – it’s a necessary index of possibilities from a group who opened many doors.

Jon Dale

Suggestions
Warm and Cool cover

Warm and Cool

Tom Verlaine
White Blood Cells cover

White Blood Cells

The White Stripes
IRM cover

IRM

Charlotte Gainsbourg
Town And Country cover

Town And Country

Town and Country
Secession 96 cover

Secession 96

Magic Hour
Always Stay Sweet cover

Always Stay Sweet

His Name Is Alive
Idiology cover

Idiology

Mouse on Mars
Covers cover

Covers

Cat Power
1991 cover

1991

Drop Nineteens
Vampire Weekend cover

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend