By Paul Iiams
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday October 3, 2002
Musique Automatique
Sometimes, you can judge an album by the type of club that would make it a part of their play list. For Musique Automatique, the newest album from Stereo Total, home would be a club that induces seizures from the constant strobe lights and occasional police raids.
The album starts off fairly strong with "Automatic Music," the English translation of the album's title. It has simple, straightforward lyrics and a beat that you can't help but tap your feet to and move your head along with.
The second track, "L'Amour 3," keeps the momentum going forward with its more traditional, albeit French, pop stylings. The potential for English top-40 success would exist for this song if they recorded an English version of it, which is just what they do on their first of 6 bonus tracks.
The rest of the album, however, forays into an aluminum-suit-wearing, black-light-dancing, electronica nightmare.
The major downfall of the album is the music. The playing of the synthesizers and drum kits comes off as amateurish. Points come off automatically for using the sound of a cell phone ringing in four different songs.
Franoise Cactus, the main vocalist who did so well with "L'Amour," falls short on the rest of the album. Although she sings in five different languages, she doesn't display the range to make the songs worth listening to.
