Mars Audiac Quintet

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.

Mars Audiac Quintet
Studio album by Stereolab
Released	2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
Recorded	March – April 1994
Studio	Blackwing (London)
Genre	Indie pop[1] space age pop[2] jangle pop[3]
Length	66:57
Label	Duophonic Elektra
Stereolab chronology
Ping Pong (1994) Mars Audiac Quintet (1994) Wow and Flutter (1994)
Singles from Mars Audiac Quintet
"Ping Pong" Released: 18 July 1994 "Wow and Flutter" Released: 17 October 1994

Recording

Stereolab recorded Mars Audiac Quartet in March and April 1994.^[4] Keyboardist Katharine Gifford joined the band for the recording of the album. During recording, guitarist Sean O'Hagan left as a full-time member in order to focus on his band the High Llamas, but continued to be a session musician for the band ever since.^[5]

Composition

AllMusic critic Heather Phares characterised Mars Audiac Quintet as a more pop-oriented affair than previous Stereolab albums, noting that it largely highlights the band's brand of space age pop.^[2]

The song "International Colouring Contest" is a tribute to Lucia Pamela and opens with a sample of her voice.^[6]

Release

Mars Audiac Quintet was released on 2 August 1994 in the United States by Elektra Records,^[7] and on 8 August 1994 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records.^[8][9] It peaked at number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.^[10] The tracks "Ping Pong" and "Wow and Flutter" were released as singles on 18 July 1994 and 17 October 1994, respectively.^[8]

A remastered and expanded edition of Mars Audiac Quintet was released by Duophonic and Warp on 3 May 2019.^[11]

Critical reception and legacy

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[12]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[13]
Pitchfork	9.1/10[14]
Q	[15]
Record Collector	[16]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[17]
Select	4/5[18]
Spin Alternative Record Guide	8/10[19]
Uncut	8/10[20]

Richard Fontenoy, writing in The Rough Guide to Rock, said that Mars Audiac Quintet elevated Stereolab "firmly into the higher stratum of indie pop".^[1] In 2003, Pitchfork ranked Mars Audiac Quintet as the 78th best album of the 1990s.^[21]

The American indie rock band Transona Five took their name from the title of the third track on the album.^[22]

Track listing

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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Three-Dee Melodie"		5:02
2.	"Wow and Flutter"		3:08
3.	"Transona Five"		5:32
4.	"Des étoiles électroniques"		3:20
5.	"Ping Pong"		3:02
6.	"Anamorphose"		7:33
7.	"Three Longers Later"		3:28
8.	"Nihilist Assault Group"		6:55
9.	"International Colouring Contest"		3:47
10.	"The Stars Our Destination"		2:58
11.	"Transporté sans bouger"		4:20
12.	"L'enfer des formes"		3:53
13.	"Outer Accelerator"		5:21
14.	"New Orthophony"		4:34
15.	"Fiery Yellow"	Gane Sean O'Hagan	4:04
Total length:			66:57

Japanese edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
16.	"Moogie Wonderland"	3:35
Total length:		70:32

Limited edition bonus disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Klang Tone"	5:36
2.	"Ulan Bator"	3:14
Total length:		8:50

2019 expanded edition bonus disc^[23]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Ulan Bator"	2:20
2.	"Klang Tone"	5:38
3.	"Melochord Seventy-Five" (original Pulse version)	5:32
4.	"Outer Accelerator" (original mix)	6:05
5.	"Nihilist Assault Group – Part 6"	2:13
6.	"Wow and Flutter" (7"/EP version – alternative mix)	3:06
7.	"Des étoiles électroniques" (demo)	1:25
8.	"Ping Pong" (demo)	2:55
9.	"The Stars Our Destination" (demo)	1:19
10.	"Three Longers Later" (demo)	2:05
11.	"Transona Five" (demo)	1:30
12.	"Transporté sans bouger" (demo)	2:09
Total length:		36:17

Sample credits^[24]

• "International Colouring Contest" contains a sample of Into Outer Space with Lucia Pamela, written by Lucia Pamela.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[25]

Stereolab

• Tim Gane – guitar, Farfisa and Vox organs, Moog synthesizer, bass
• Lætitia Sadier – vocals, tambourine, Mint's and Vox organs, guitar
• Duncan Brown – bass
• Katharine Gifford – Farfisa and Vox organs, Moog synthesizer, backing vocals on "Transporté sans bouger"
• Mary Hansen – vocals, guitar, tambourine, egg shaker
• Sean O'Hagan – marimba, slide guitar, brass arrangements, guitar twang on "Ping Pong", guitar tremolo on "International Colouring Contest", percussion on "Fiery Yellow"
• Andy Ramsay – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Alan Carter – tenor saxophone, flute
• Vera Daucher – violin
• Jean-Baptiste Garnero – backing vocals on "Transporté sans bouger"
• Lindsay Low – trumpet
• Andy Robinson – trombone

Production

• Steve Rooke – mastering
• Stereolab (credited as "The Groop") – mixing
• Paul Tipler – engineering, mixing
• Nick Webb – mastering

Design

• Peter Morris – photography
• Trouble – layout

Charts

Chart (1994)	Peak position
European Top 100 Albums (Music & Media)[26]	76
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27]	33
UK Albums (OCC)[10]	16
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[28]	2

Chart (2019)	Peak position
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[29]	92