Stereolab
Emperor Tomato Ketchup
Elektra Records

If there was a music awards category for "Band Most Likely To Be From Another Planet," Stereolab would be a shoe-in. Combining the zesty analog sounds of Moog keyboards and electric guitars with a French vocalist of the wispy-lounge jazz-singer variety, this London-based group puts out the oddest stuff I've heard in years. Throw in a farfisa, vibraphones, strings and samples and you get some sparkling pop that swerves dangerously toward beautiful.

Caught somewhere between ambient, dancepop and rock, its sound is doggedly experimental. A few tracks spout 1970s sounds with a vengeance - add tire screeches and engine sounds and you have a "Hawaii 5-0" car chase. All the songs are heavy on repetition, and for the drummer's sake I hope the drum tracks are looped, because he and the guitar player are ripe for some repetitive-stress injuries. Like all good ambient music, the effect is hypnotic rather than boring. In between the dance tracks are a few complex, crystalline ditties that make it plain you are dealing with musicians, not some studio-crafted hit factory.

The singer offers soprano nuggets of pseudo-sociological non-wisdom ("What's society built on/Built on words/Built on work") mixed with listless French, but this only adds to the overall richness. Her deadpan delivery allows for some massive, wickedly bitter irony without getting lost in the politics.

There are a few failed experiments along the way, including a track that sounds like a 1980s French disco hit played as a march, but all good scientists know that the failed experiments give you the most useful data. Stereolab seems purposely designed to eliminate fence-sitters: You will love the band or loathe it. I love it - it makes all the grunge wankers sound like preteen cover bands trapped in a leaky garage in the 'burbs.

U-ziq
In Pine Effect
Astralwerks

Avatars and pioneers of the analog ambient sound, U-ziq (mu-sick, get it?) has put out a few albums of mind-bending stuff indeed. Its latest has 12 tracks of audio mayhem, ranging from pure danceable trance with amazingly catchy beats to a few scraps of excruciating noise. You win some, you lose some.

I'm always interested in the bands that push the envelope, that don't just dismiss the record-bin categories but also challenge their own abilities. U-ziq never fails to impress. Using analog sounds and scratchy vinyl loops, it cranks out stuff that sounds like a horror movie soundtrack passed through a dance/pop filter. Fans of Aphex Twin will recognize the method immediately. The result is a mixed bag that will challenge your brain as well as your stereo. There is enough variety here to shock, horrify, inspire and charm you in the same 40 minutes - note that I did not say "bore."

Any fan of ambient, trance, or techno will find something to love in the complex, melodic tunes humming over the blistering drum loops. This was meant to be heard at maximum volume, preferably accompanied by a strobe light and smoke machine.