If Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements flirted with the gleaming optimism of the space age, Mars Audiac Quintet fell in love. The feel got lighter, the sound clearer, the French thicker, the structures more oriented towards pop songs than open-ended grooves (“Ping Pong”, “L’Enfer Des Formes”). Even the politics seemed more direct: “Look at the symbols, they are alive/They move, evolve, and then they die,” Laetitia Sadier sings on “Wow and Flutter”. That she’s paraphrasing the endless clash of Marxist dialectics doesn’t matter as much as how unbothered she sounds while doing it; all that’s missing is her cocktail. Then there’s stuff like “The Stars Our Destination”, which balances kitsch with earnestness and high-minded ideas with an almost naive optimism—a blend the band turned into their signature.
Tracklisting
| Position | Title |
|---|---|
| Mars Audiac Quintet | |
| A1 | Three-Dee Melodie |
| A2 | Wow And Flutter |
| A3 | Transona Five |
| A4 | Des Etoiles Electroniques |
| B1 | Ping Pong |
| B2 | Anamorphose |
| B3 | Three Longers Later |
| C1 | Nihilist Assault Group |
| C2 | International Colouring Contest |
| C3 | The Stars Our Destination |
| C4 | Transporte Sans Bouger |
| D1 | L’Enfer Des Formes |
| D2 | Outer Accelerator |
| D3 | New Orthophony |
| D4 | Fiery Yellow |
| Demos And Alternate Versions | |
| E1 | Ulan Bator |
| E2 | Klang Tone |
| E3 | Melochord Seventy-Five (Original Pulse Version) |
| E4 | Outer Accelerator - (Original Mix) |
| F1 | Nihilist Assault Group - Part 6 |
| F2 | Wow And Flutter (7"/EP Version - Alternative Mix) |
| F3 | Des Etoile Electroniques - Demo |
| F4 | Ping Pong - Demo |
| F5 | The Stars Our Destination - Demo |
| F6 | Three Longers Later - Demo |
| F7 | Transona Five - Demo |
| F8 | Transporté Sans Bouger - Demo |
Apple Music
Release Images
Release Information
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Audiac_Quintet |
| Format | 2× Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered |
| Label | Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks |
| Catalog Number | D-UHF-D05R |
| Notes | Black vinyl re-issue. Expanded issue, includes a bonus disk of demos and alternate versions. Packaged in a gatefold sleeve; all LPs slot into a single panel. Packaged with an outer clear plastic sleeve with hype and bar-code stickers. Comes with a 4-panel fold out poster with liner notes on the reverse. A download code is also included. 40 copies were made with obi by Martin Pike and sold through Rough Trade UK. 20 copies were made with a piece of master tape numbered and stamped by Martin Pike and offered to customers whose orders for the clear vinyl edition could not be fulfilled through Rough Trade NYC. |
| Discogs URL | Stereolab - Mars Audiac Quintet |