Mars Audiac Quintet

Mars Audiac Quintet is the third studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 2 August 1994 in the United States by Elektra Records[2] and on 8 August 1994 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records. During the recording of the album, guitarist Sean O'Hagan left as a full-time member to tour with the High Llamas, while keyboardist Katharine Gifford was added. Mars Audiac Quartet reached number 16 on the UK Albums Chart.

Mars Audiac Quintet
Studio album by
Stereolab
Released2 August 1994 (1994-08-02)
Recorded1994
StudioBlackwing Studios (London)
GenreSpace age pop[1]
Length66:57
Label
Stereolab chronology
Ping Pong
(1994)		 Mars Audiac Quintet
(1994)		 Wow and Flutter
(1994)
Stereolab studio album chronology
Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements
(1993)		 Mars Audiac Quintet
(1994)		 Emperor Tomato Ketchup
(1996)
Singles from Mars Audiac Quintet
  1. "Ping Pong"
    Released: 18 July 1994 (EP)
  2. "Wow and Flutter"
    Released: 20 October 1994 (EP)

Composition

The song "International Colouring Contest" is a tribute to Lucia Pamela, and samples her voice in the intro.[3]

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Christgau's Consumer Guide[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[6]
Pitchfork9.1/10[7]
Q[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[9]
Select4/5[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[11]
Uncut8/10[12]

Pitchfork ranked Mars Audiac Quintet the 78th best album of the 1990s.[13]

Influence

The American indie rock band Transona Five took their name from the title of the third track on the album.[14][15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier, unless otherwise noted.

No.TitleWriter(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"
4:04
Total length:66:57
Bonus disc
No.TitleLength
1."Klang Tone"5:36
2."Ulan Bator"3:14
Total length:8:50
2019 expanded edition bonus disc[16]
No.TitleLength
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:36:09

Personnel

Credits for Mars Audiac Quintet adapted from album liner notes.[17]

Charts
Chart (1994–2019) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 33
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 16
US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[20] 92
gollark: I have *seen* a decent amount of shiny things, but mostly only caught coppers, during halloween when nobody was looking.
gollark: I do this to the extent of occasionally hunting for a bit on the 5 minute thingies, very unsuccessfully.
gollark: The only thing saving us from constant massbreed walls, really, is the fact that massbreeding is manually done and therefore slow and boring.
gollark: These things never end up actually being as simple as one would hope.
gollark: Programming effort.

References
  1. Phares, Heather. "Mars Audiac Quintet – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  2. Morris, Chris (25 June 1994). "Elektra's Stereolab Gets A Fresh Start On Lollapalooza 2nd Stage". Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 26. p. 15. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. Mason, Stewart. "International Colouring Contest – Stereolab". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  4. Christgau, Robert (2000). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-24560-2. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  5. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Stereolab". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  6. Jackon, Devon (19 August 1994). "Mars Audiac Quintet". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  7. Sherburne, Philip (18 July 2019). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  8. "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Q. No. 97. October 1994. p. 126.
  9. Sarig, Roni (2004). "Stereolab". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 779–81. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  10. Wilkinson, Roy (September 1994). "Stereolab: Mars Audiac Quintet". Select. No. 51. p. 98.
  11. Strauss, Neil (1995). "Stereolab". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 375–76. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. Pattison, Louis (June 2019). "Stereolab: Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements / Mars Audiac Quintet". Uncut. No. 265. p. 49.
  13. "Top 100 Albums of the 1990s". Pitchfork. 17 November 2003. p. 3. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  14. Wilonsky, Robert (1 February 2007). "Transona Five's Chris Foley Died Sunday; Causes Still to Be Determined". Dallas Observer. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  15. "Music By Transona Five Is Now Available For The First Time In 20 Years". New Noise. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  16. "Stereolab – Mars Audiac Quintet (Expanded Edition). Vinyl LP, CD". Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  17. Mars Audiac Quintet (liner notes). Stereolab. Duophonic Records. 1994. D-UHF-CD05.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  19. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 November 2017.
  20. "Stereolab Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
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