Connect the dots

Stereolab-

Dots and Loops (Elektra)

Stereolab knows pop-what it is, what it was and what it could be. Survivors of the 80's pop deluge, the Francophonic quintet has been ceding colorful, dream-like soundscapes for the last six years, dismissing the grunge rush, the electronic surge and the trip-hop bonanza of the '90s.

Co-songwriters and ex-McCarthys, Laetitia Sadier and Tim Gane, like to play the musical tug-of-war. Their offbeat songs echo voices of the past, while nascent stirrings pulsate within. Their latest effort, Dots and Loops, is just that: Postmodernism at its very best.

With its room-temperature softened jazz, finely aged French pop and neo-classical samples laden with flavor, the album is a transgenre m*lange of pure pop consciousness.

However, the Lab's new test-tube baby is much more evolved and low-key than their previous indie-faves, Peng! (1991) and Emperor Tomato Ketchup (1996). Stereolab combines the usual set of sonic genes (e.g. convoluted beats, shimmering strings, etc.), but now, the genetic engineers add a dash of futuristic, galactic noise to perfect their progeny.

Dots and Loops is one big trip down memory lane. In "Miss Modular" and "Rainbo Conversation," Stereolab touts a polished scope of orchestral brass arrangements worthy of Charlie's Angels and M.A.S.H.'s themes. Sadier's glossy, bilingual lyrical delivery throughout the album makes one nostalgic for those good times spent at Express trying on that fine, mock-French couture.

Although the rest of the gang manages to pave a stunning silk road, at the end everything comes down to "Seaya" Sadier-what makes Stereolab.