Oscillons from the Anti-Sun

Album Review

The three-disc, one-DVD mini-box set Oscillons From the Anti-Sun is not part of Stereolab's ongoing Switched On series, which rounds up the stray singles, EPs, and B-sides, but it's easy to see how the casual observer might think it's the fourth installment in the series. Instead, this 35-track box set contains material previously released on British and European CD singles and EPs between 1993 and 2000. Oscillons is not limited to featuring only the B-sides: such familiar A-sides as "Jenny Ondioline," "The Noise of Carpet," "Ping Pong," and "Cybele's Reverie" are here next to such non-LP cuts as "Fluorescences," as well as a host of B-sides, some of which were featured on the 1998 Switched On comp, Aluminum Tunes. Frustratingly, the EPs are neither presented in their original running order, nor is the music presented chronologically. Instead, the three discs jump around from EP to single, from year to year, without regard to the band's ever-shifting lineups. Despite this, the sequencing of the music flows well, and it's an entertaining listen since this indeed covers the group's peak years. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine that any fan who followed Stereolab with any regularity not having the great majority of this material, which surely is why the DVD was included with this set. It's a nice DVD, containing all of the promo videos from the mid- to late '90s — "Jenny Ondioline" through "The Free Design" — along with U.K. TV performances from the group's appearances on The Word and Later With Jools Holland. Considering that this box retails for under 25 dollars in the U.S., this DVD may be enough for serious fans to consider purchasing this set and getting rid of the original singles (even if the original artwork is nowhere to be found in this set, outside of a set of stickers included with the first pressing of the set; of course, there are no liner notes to speak of in the set at all). Of course, replacing singles with box sets runs contrary to the nature of Stereolab and their fans, who are positively enamored with rare pieces of vinyl and limited-edition CDs, but this is still a good way to get all of the music on those singles and EPs, even if the presentation and sequencing could have been a bit better.