Peng!

Last updated

Peng!
Stereolab-Peng.png
Studio album by
Released26 May 1992 (1992-05-26)
RecordedApril 1992
Genre
Length47:47
Label Too Pure
Producer
  • Robbs
  • Stereolab
Stereolab chronology
Super-Electric
(1991)
Peng!
(1992)
Low Fi
(1992)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
Pitchfork 4.8/10 (1995) [5]
7.5/10 (2019) [6]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 6/10 [9]
Uncut 7/10 [10]

Peng! is the debut studio album by English-French band Stereolab. It was released on 26 May 1992 by Too Pure in the United Kingdom. [11] The album was issued in the United States on 13 June 1995 by Too Pure and American Recordings. [12] A remastered edition of the album was released on 9 November 2018 by Too Pure and Beggars Arkive. [13]

Contents

The album's title (a German onomatopoeia for a loud pop or bang) and cover art are derived from a comic strip named "Der tödliche Finger" that appeared in a 1970 issue of Hotcha, a Swiss underground newspaper. [14] Different panels of the same strip were adapted into cover art for other early Stereolab releases, and remain popular icons for the band.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Super Falling Star" 3:16
2."Orgiastic" 4:44
3."Peng! 33" 3:03
4."K-Stars" 4:04
5."Perversion" 5:01
6."You Little Shits" 3:25
7."The Seeming and the Meaning" 3:48
8."Mellotron" 2:47
9."Enivrez-vous" Charles Baudelaire 3:51
10."Stomach Worm" 6:35
11."Surrealchemist" 7:13
Total length:47:47

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. [15]

Stereolab

Production

Charts

Chart (1992)Peak
position
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [16] 6

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stereolab</span> English-French avant-pop band

Stereolab are an Anglo-French avant-pop band formed in London in 1990. Led by the songwriting team of Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, the group's sound features influences from krautrock and 1960s pop music, often incorporating a repetitive motorik beat with the use of vintage electronic keyboards and female vocals sung in English and French. Their lyrics have political and philosophical themes influenced by the Surrealist and Situationist movements. On stage, they play in a more feedback-driven and guitar-oriented style. The band also draw from funk, jazz and Brazilian music, and were one of the first bands to be dubbed "post-rock".

<i>Dots and Loops</i> 1997 studio album by Stereolab

Dots and Loops is the fifth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 22 September 1997 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records. The band co-produced the album with John McEntire and Andi Toma, and recording took place at their respective studios in Chicago and Düsseldorf. It was their first album to be recorded straight to Digital Audio Tape and produced with Pro Tools. The album explores jazz and electronic sounds, and is influenced by bossa nova and 1960s pop music. Its lyrics address matters such as consumerism, the "spectacle", materialism, and human interaction.

<i>Switched On</i> 1992 compilation album by Stereolab

Switched On is a compilation of Stereolab's first three releases, and was originally released in 1992. The album's name is in tribute to Switched-On Bach and other similar titles from the late 1960s to 1970s that feature Moog synthesizers as the primary instrument. Switched On was later licensed to Slumberland Records for a US release, and Rough Trade Germany, for that country, both in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Gane</span> Musical artist

Timothy John Gane is an English songwriter and guitarist who co-founded Stereolab with his then-partner Lætitia Sadier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lætitia Sadier</span> French singer

Lætitia Sadier, sometimes known as Seaya Sadier, is a French musician best known as a founding member of the London-based avant-pop band Stereolab. In 1996, while Stereolab was still active, she formed the side project Monade. In 2009 – the same year Stereolab became inactive – she ended the Monade project and began to perform solo work under her own name; her current band is known as the Lætitia Sadier Source Ensemble. She has frequently performed guest vocals and collaborations with other artists.

<i>Mars Audiac Quintet</i> 1994 studio album by Stereolab

Mars Audiac Quintet is the third studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 2 August 1994 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records.

<i>Emperor Tomato Ketchup</i> (album) 1996 studio album by Stereolab

Emperor Tomato Ketchup is the fourth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 18 March 1996 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records.

<i>Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night</i> 1999 studio album by Stereolab

Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night is the sixth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 21 September 1999 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records. The album was largely co-produced by Stereolab, John McEntire, and Jim O'Rourke.

<i>Sound-Dust</i> 2001 studio album by Stereolab

Sound-Dust is the seventh studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 28 August 2001 in North America by Elektra Records and on 3 September 2001 internationally by Duophonic Records. The album was produced by John McEntire and Jim O'Rourke and recorded at McEntire's Chicago studio Soma. It was Stereolab's last album to feature singer and guitarist Mary Hansen, who died in a biking accident the following year.

<i>Margerine Eclipse</i> 2004 studio album by Stereolab

Margerine Eclipse is the eighth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 27 January 2004 in the United States by Elektra Records and on 2 February 2004 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records. The album is in large part a eulogy to former band member Mary Hansen, who died in 2002.

<i>The First of the Microbe Hunters</i> 2000 EP by Stereolab

The First of the Microbe Hunters is the fifth EP by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 16 May 2000 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records and in the United States by Elektra Records. Its title makes reference to the book Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif, in which the first chapter is dedicated to Dutch scientist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, named "the first of the microbe hunters". Its tracks were re-released in the band's 2021 compilation Electrically Possessed.

<i>Crumb Duck</i> 1993 EP by Stereolab & Nurse With Wound

Crumb Duck is the first collaboration between Anglo-French indie band Stereolab and cult avant-garde unit Nurse With Wound, first released on 10" vinyl on the Clawfist label in 1993.

<i>Too Pure – The Peel Sessions</i> 1992 live album by various

Too Pure – The Peel Sessions is a compilation CD and 10" vinyl LP released by Strange Fruit by arrangement with the indie label Too Pure in 1992, and featuring their three most up-and-coming bands at the time. It contains some of the earliest commercially released work by PJ Harvey.

<i>Space Age Bachelor Pad Music</i> 1993 EP by Stereolab

Space Age Batchelor Pad Music is an EP by the alternative music band Stereolab, originally released in March 1993. The release became an underground hit, and led to the band securing its first major-label record deal.

<i>Chemical Chords</i> 2008 studio album by Stereolab

Chemical Chords is the ninth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 18 August 2008 by 4AD and Duophonic Records.

<i>Not Music</i> 2010 studio album by Stereolab

Not Music is the tenth and most recent studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 16 November 2010 by Drag City and Duophonic Records. The album is a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as their previous album, Chemical Chords (2008).

<i>Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements</i> 1993 studio album by Stereolab

Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements is the second studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab, released on 10 August 1993 and was issued by Duophonic Records and Elektra Records. It was recorded with an expanded line-up, and is generally considered to be the band's noisiest release due to its emphasis on distorted guitars and keyboard sounds.

<i>Electrically Possessed</i> 2021 compilation album by Stereolab

Electrically Possessed is a compilation album by the English-French band Stereolab, released on 26 February 2021 under Duophonic Records and Warp Records. It collects the band's rarities, and is the fourth of their "Switched-On" compilation series. The track "Dimension M2" was released following the compilation's announcement, followed by "Household Names", taken from the mini album The First of the Microbe Hunters.

<i>Monstre Cosmic</i> 2008 studio album by Monade

Monstre Cosmic is the third and final studio album from the French band Monade, released on 19 February 2008 on Too Pure records.

<i>Silencio</i> (album) 2012 studio album by Lætitia Sadier

Silencio is the second studio album from the French singer Lætitia Sadier, was released on 24 July 2012 under Drag City records.

References

  1. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "Peng! – Stereolab". AllMusic . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. Sherburne, Philip (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Pitchfork . Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  3. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). "Stereolab". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (concise 5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0-85712-595-8.
  4. Woodard, Josef (23 June 1995). "Pong!". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  5. "Stereolab: Peng!: Pitchfork Review". Archived from the original on 26 November 2001. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  6. Corcoran, Nina (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Peng!". Pitchfork . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  7. Atkins, Jamie (January 2019). "Stereolab: Peng!". Record Collector . No. 488. p. 103.
  8. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Stereolab". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  779–781. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Strauss, Neil (1995). "Stereolab". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 375–376. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  10. Martin, Piers (February 2019). "Stereolab: Peng! / The Groop Played "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music"". Uncut . No. 261. p. 49.
  11. Peng! (press advertisement). Too Pure. 1992. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  12. "Just out". CMJ New Music Monthly . No. 22. June 1995. p. 55. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  13. "Stereolab – Peng!". Beggars Arkive . Retrieved 24 January 2021.
  14. Schneider, Martin (27 April 2017). "The intriguing origins of 'Cliff', the cartoon character that's all over Stereolab's early album art". Dangerous Minds . Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  15. Peng! (liner notes). Stereolab. Too Pure. 1992. PURE CD 11.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  16. "Distribution: Indie Albums" (PDF). Music Week . 13 June 1992. p. 16. Retrieved 28 May 2021.