Editing Stereolab (section)

==History==

===1990–1993: Formation===
[[File:Stereolabcliff.svg|left|thumb|upright=0.65|The band's "Cliff" logo appeared in early releases. It was taken from the 1970 comic strip "Der Tödliche Finger" by Anton Holtz Portmann.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dale|first=John|date=2016-02-17|title=The complete guide to Stereolab|url=https://www.factmag.com/2016/02/17/stereolab-guide-best-albums-songs/|access-date=2021-01-16|website=[[Fact (UK magazine)|Fact]]|language=en-US}}</ref>]]
In 1985, Tim Gane formed [[McCarthy (band)|McCarthy]], a band from [[Essex]], England, known for their left-wing politics.<ref name="sutton">{{cite web | last=Sutton, Michael | url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p203494|pure_url=yes}} | website=[[AllMusic]] | title=Biography (McCarthy) | access-date=30 May 2007}}</ref> Gane met Lætitia Sadier, born in France,<ref name="Arundel (1991)">{{cite news | last=Arundel, Jim | url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=610 | work=Melody Maker | title=Stereolab | date=26 October 1991 | access-date=26 May 2007 | archive-date=28 September 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040332/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=610 | url-status=live }}</ref> at a 1988 McCarthy concert in Paris and the two quickly fell in love. Sadier was disillusioned with the rock scene in France and soon moved to London to be with Gane and to pursue a music career.<ref name="McLean (2019)" /><ref name="Arundel (1991)" /> In 1990, after three albums, McCarthy broke up and Gane immediately formed Stereolab with Sadier (who had also contributed vocals to McCarthy's final album), ex-[[The Chills|Chills]] bassist [[Martin Kean]] and Gina Morris on backing vocals.<ref name="sutton" /><ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)">{{cite web | last=Phares, Heather | url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stereolab-mn0000026520/biography | website=AllMusic | title=Biography (Stereolab) | access-date=25 May 2007 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114046/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/stereolab-mn0000026520/biography | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dale |first=Jon |title=Stereolab - Switched on Volumes 1-3 |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/album/stereolab-switched-refried-ectoplasm-switched-volume-2-aluminum-tunes-switched-volume-3 |website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |date=9 November 2018 |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114051/https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/stereolab-switched-refried-ectoplasm-switched-volume-2-aluminum-tunes-switched-volume-3-108173/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Stereolab's name was taken from a division of [[Vanguard Records]] demonstrating [[hi-fi]] effects.<ref name="perrone">{{cite news|last=Perrone, Pierre |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20021213/ai_n12656122 |work=[[The Independent]] |title=Obituary: Mary Hansen |date=13 December 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016152930/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20021213/ai_n12656122 |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref><ref name="Harvey (2017)">{{cite web|last=Harvey, Eric|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stereolab-dots-and-loops/|title=Stereolab: Dots and Loops Album Review|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=19 March 2018|date=23 July 2017|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114118/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/stereolab-dots-and-loops/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Grunebaum (2007)">{{cite news |last=Grunebaum, Dan |title=In Person: Don't call us retro |url=http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/415/interview.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061119153819/http://metropolis.co.jp/tokyo/415/interview.asp |archive-date=19 November 2006 |access-date=29 May 2007 |publisher=[[Metropolis (English magazine in Japan)|Metropolis]]}}</ref>

Gane and Sadier, along with future band manager Martin Pike, set up a record label called [[Duophonic Super 45s]] which, along with later offshoot Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, would become commonly known as "Duophonic".<ref name="H2O (Chunklet: Tim Gane)">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.chunklet.com/index.cfm?section=article&IssueID=8&ID=53 |magazine=[[Chunklet (magazine)|Chunklet]], Issue 14 |publisher=Chunklet |title=Tim Gane (Duophonic/UHF Disks) |author=((H2O)) |access-date=26 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123215624/http://chunklet.com/index.cfm?section=article&IssueID=8&ID=53 |archive-date=23 November 2010 }}</ref> Gane said that their "original plan" was to distribute multiple 7 and 10-inch records "–to just do one a month and keep doing them in small editions".<ref name="McGonical">{{cite journal |last=McGonical |first=Mike |title=Stereolab / Serene Velocity |journal=(compilation Album Booklet) R2 79533|date=August 2006}}</ref> The 10&nbsp;inch vinyl [[Extended play|EP]] ''[[Super 45]]'', released in May 1991, was the first release for both Stereolab and the label, and was sold through mail order and through the [[Rough Trade Shop]] in London. ''Super 45''{{'}}s band-designed album art and packaging was the first of many customised and limited-edition Duophonic records. In a 1996 interview in ''[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]]'', Gane calls the "do-it-yourself" aesthetic behind Duophonic "empowering", and said that by releasing one's own music "you learn; it creates more music, more ideas".<ref name="Shapiro (1996)">{{cite news|last=Shapiro, Peter |author-link=Peter Shapiro (journalist) |url=http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/interviews/stereolab.html |work=[[The Wire (magazine)|The Wire]] |title=Laboratory Secrets—Stereolab |date=July 1996 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630172144/http://www.thewire.co.uk/archive/interviews/stereolab.html |archive-date=30 June 2007 }}</ref>

Stereolab released the EP ''[[Super-Electric]]'' in September 1991, and a single, titled "Stunning Debut Album" (which was neither debut nor album), followed in November 1991. The early material was rock and guitar-oriented; of ''Super-Electric'' Jason Ankeny wrote in [[AllMusic]] that "Droning guitars, skeletal rhythms, and pop hooks—not vintage synths and pointillist melodies—were their calling cards&nbsp;..."<ref>{{cite web | last=Ankeny, Jason | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r804005|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Super-Electric) | access-date=30 May 2007}}</ref> Under the independent label [[Too Pure]], the group's first full-length album, ''[[Peng!]]'', was released in May 1992. A compilation titled ''[[Switched On]]'' was released in October 1992 and would be part of a series of compilations that anthologise the band's more obscure material.<ref name="Phares (AMG: Fab Four Suture)">{{cite web | last=Phares, Heather | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r821199|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Fab Four Suture) | access-date=25 May 2007}}</ref>

Around this time, the line-up consisted of Gane and Sadier plus vocalist and guitarist [[Mary Hansen]], drummer Andy Ramsay, bassist Duncan Brown, and keyboardist Katharine Gifford. Hansen, born in Australia, had been in touch with Gane since his McCarthy days. After joining, she and Sadier developed a style of vocal counterpoint that distinguished Stereolab's sound.<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)" /><ref name="perrone" /><ref>{{cite news | last=DeRogatis, Jim | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1504869.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034444/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-1504869.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]| publisher=Sun-Times News Group  | title=Great Chemistry // Stereolab Concocts a Unique Mix of Sounds | date=14 October 1993}}</ref> [[Sean O'Hagan]] of [[the High Llamas]] joined as a quick replacement for their touring keyboardist, but was invited for their next record and "was allowed to make suggestions".<ref name="ps5">{{cite web|author1=Popshifter|title=Painters Paint: The Definitive Career-Spanning Interview (to date) With The High Llamas' Sean O'Hagan (Snowbug and Buzzle Bee)|url=http://popshifter.com/2011-01-30/painters-paint-interview-with-the-high-llamas-sean-ohagan/5/|website=Popshifter|date=30 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225145009/http://popshifter.com/2011-01-30/painters-paint-interview-with-the-high-llamas-sean-ohagan/5/|archive-date=25 December 2017}}</ref>

===1993–2001: Sign to Elektra===
Stereolab introduced [[easy-listening]] elements into their sound with the EP ''[[Space Age Bachelor Pad Music]]'', released in March 1993. The work raised the band's profile and landed them a major-label American record deal with [[Elektra Records]]. Their first album under Elektra, ''[[Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements]]'' (August 1993), was an underground success in both the US and the UK.<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)"/> Mark Jenkins commented in ''[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]'' that with the album, Stereolab "continues the glorious drones of [their] indie work, giving celestial sweep to [their] garage-rock organ pumping and rhythm-guitar strumming".<ref>{{cite news | last=Jenkins, Mark | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-974533.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071005061724/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-974533.html | archive-date=5 October 2007 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]  | title=Acting on Pulse: Shimmery Stereolab | date=12 November 1993}}</ref> In the UK, the album was released on Duophonic Ultra High Frequency Disks, which is responsible for domestic releases of Stereolab's major albums.<ref name="H2O (Chunklet: Tim Gane)"/>

[[File:Stereolab (1994).jpg|alt=|thumb|Stereolab performing in London in 1994]]
In January 1994, Stereolab achieved their first chart entry when the 1993 EP ''[[Jenny Ondioline]]'', entered at number 75 on the [[UK Singles Chart]]. (Over the next three years, four more releases by the band would appear on this chart, ending with the EP ''[[Miss Modular]]'' in 1997.) Their third album, ''[[Mars Audiac Quintet]]'', was released in August 1994. The album contains the single "[[Ping Pong (EP)|Ping Pong]]", which gained press coverage for its explicitly [[Marxism|Marxist]] lyrics.<ref name="DeRogatis (1994)">{{cite news | last=DeRogatis, Jim | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4241865.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034452/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4241865.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | work=Chicago Sun-Times | publisher=Sun-Times News Group | title=Stereolab Stands Alone With Hypnotic Drone | date=7 August 1994}}</ref><ref name="Mason (AMG: Ping Pong)">{{cite web | last=Mason, Stewart | url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t3599445|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Song Review (Ping Pong) | access-date=25 May 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Reynolds, Simon |author-link=Simon Reynolds |url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=1030 |work=Melody Maker |title=Stereolab: Separation Terrorists |date=16 July 1994 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928040054/http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=1030 |archive-date=28 September 2007 }}</ref> The band focused more on pop and less on rock, resulting in what AllMusic described as "what may be the group's most accessible, tightly-written album".<ref>{{cite web | last=Phares, Heather | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r204124|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Mars Audiac Quintet) | access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref> It was the last album to feature O'Hagan as a full-time member. He would continue to make guest appearances on later releases.<ref name="amsean">{{cite web|last=McClintock|first=J. Scott|title=Sean O'Hagan|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sean-ohagan-mn0000839359/biography|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 December 2017|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114124/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sean-ohagan-mn0000839359/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> The group issued an EP titled ''[[Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center]]'' in April 1995. The EP was their musical contribution to an interactive art exhibit put on in collaboration with New York City artist Charles Long.<ref name="Reynolds (1995)">{{cite news | last=Reynolds, Simon | url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=1018 | work=[[Artforum]] | title=Plasticine and Heard. (Interactive Exhibit) | date=1 May 1995 | access-date=26 May 2007 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114121/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/stereolab-simple-minds/ | url-status=live }}</ref> Their second compilation of rarities, titled ''[[Refried Ectoplasm|Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2)]]'', was released in July 1995.

The band's fourth album, ''[[Emperor Tomato Ketchup (album)|Emperor Tomato Ketchup]]'' (March 1996), was a critical success and was played heavily on [[college radio]].<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)"/> A record that "captivated alternative rock", it represented the group's "high-water mark" said music journalists Tom Moon and Joshua Klein, respectively.<ref name="Klein (2001)"/><ref>{{cite news | last=Moon, Tom | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118466091.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035102/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-118466091.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | work=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]]| publisher=Philly Online, LLC  | title=Latest album from Stereolab continues high-tech tradition | date=20 April 2004}}</ref> The album incorporated their early krautrock sound with funk, hip-hop influences and experimental instrumental arrangements.<ref name=":0">{{cite web | last=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r233504|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Emperor Tomato Ketchup) | access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref> [[John McEntire]] of Tortoise also assisted with production and played on the album. Katharine Gifford was replaced by Morgane Lhote before recording, and bassist Duncan Brown by Richard Harrison after.<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)"/> Lhote was required to both learn the keyboards and 30 of the group's songs before joining.<ref>{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Rachel |title=Stereolab's Morgane Lhote Talks Video Games, Daft Punk and New Project Hologram Teen |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/rachel-mason/stereolabs-morgane-lhote-_b_10402066.html |website=Huffington Post |access-date=22 February 2019 |date=13 June 2016 |archive-date=12 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114118/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stereolabs-morgane-lhote-_b_10402066 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Released in September 1997, ''[[Dots and Loops]]'' was their first album to enter the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200 charts]], peaking at number 111. The album leaned towards [[jazz]] with [[bossa nova]] and [[1960s in music|60's pop]] influences.<ref>{{cite web | last=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/dots-and-loops-mw0000026813 | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Dots and Loops) | access-date=12 August 2018 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114126/https://www.allmusic.com/album/dots-and-loops-mw0000026813 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Barney Hoskyns]] wrote in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' that with it the group moved "ever further away from the one-chord Velvets drone-mesh of its early days" toward easy-listening and [[Europop]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Hoskyns, Barry|date=October 1997|title=Stereolab: Dots and Loops|magazine=Rolling Stone|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/article_with_login.html?ArticleID=1365|url-status=live|access-date=2 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114131/https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/stereolab-dots-and-loops-/|archive-date=12 January 2021}}</ref> A review in German newspaper ''[[Die Zeit]]'' stated that in ''Dots and Loops'', Stereolab transformed the harder Velvet Underground-like riffs of previous releases into "softer sounds and noisy playfulness".<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.zeit.de/1997/44/19899 | work=Die Zeit | title=Review (Dots and Loops) | date=4 April 1997 | access-date=12 June 2007 | archive-date=16 October 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016073552/http://www.zeit.de/1997/44/19899 | url-status=live }}</ref> Contributors to the album included John McEntire and Jan St. Werner of German electropop duo [[Mouse on Mars]].<ref name="Erlewine (AMG: Stereolab)" /><ref name="Cooper (1999)">{{cite news|last=Cooper, Neil |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_19990523/ai_n13939563 |work=The Sunday Herald  |title=Hold the front page&nbsp;...&nbsp;Stereolab have learned a second chord |date=23 May 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016152910/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_19990523/ai_n13939563 |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> Stereolab toured for seven months and took a break when Gane and Sadier had a child.<ref name="Jenkins (5 November 1999)" /> The group's third compilation of rarities, ''[[Aluminum Tunes]]'', was issued in October 1998.

Their sixth album, ''[[Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night]]'', was released in September 1999. It was co-produced by McEntire and American producer [[Jim O'Rourke (musician)|Jim O'Rourke]], and was recorded with their new bassist, Simon Johns.<ref name="Jenkins (5 November 1999)" /> The album received middling reviews from critics and peaked at number 154 on the ''Billboard'' 200.<ref name="uncutcobra">{{cite magazine|title=Stereolab: Emperor Tomato Ketchup / Dots and Loops / Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night|magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|issue=269|date=October 2019|last=Pattison|first=Louis|page=50}}</ref><ref name="exclaimcobra">{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/stereolab-cobra_and_phases_group_play_voltage_in_the_milky_night|title=Stereolab: Cobra and Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night (Expanded and Remastered)|website=[[Exclaim!]]|date=12 September 2019|access-date=14 March 2020|last=Ranta|first=Alan}}</ref> An unsigned ''[[NME]]'' review said that "this record has far more in common with bad jazz and progressive rock than any experimental art-rock tradition."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/1392.htm |website=NME |title=Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage in the Milky Night |access-date=11 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016080835/http://www.nme.com/reviews/1392.htm |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> In a 1999 article of ''Washington Post'', Mark Jenkins asked Gane about the album's apparent lack of guitars; Gane responded, "There's a lot less upfront, distorted guitar&nbsp;...&nbsp;But it's still quite guitar-based music. Every single track has a guitar on it."<ref name="Jenkins (5 November 1999)">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/11/05/stereolabs-latest-experiment/3750c74e-ee0b-4248-960e-0a11c52a81db/?noredirect=on|title=Stereolab's Latest Experiment|last=Jenkins, Mark|date=5 November 1999|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=28 December 2018|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114145/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1999/11/05/stereolabs-latest-experiment/3750c74e-ee0b-4248-960e-0a11c52a81db/?noredirect=on|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stereolab's seventh album, ''[[Sound-Dust]]'' (August 2001), rose to number 178 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album also featured producers McEntire and O'Rourke. ''Sound-Dust'' was more warmly received than ''Cobra and Phases Group…''.<ref name="Klein (2001)"/><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Walters, Barry |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/stereolab/albums/album/282736/review/5944773/sounddust |magazine=Rolling Stone |title=Sound-Dust |date=20 August 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016075146/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/stereolab/albums/album/282736/review/5944773/sounddust |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> Critic Joshua Klein said that "the emphasis this time sounds less on unfocused experimentation and more on melody&nbsp;...&nbsp;a breezy and welcome return to form for the British band."<ref name="Klein (2001)">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/|title=What the Bleep? Stereolab Does Some Actual Tunes|last=Klein, Joshua|date=29 August 2001|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=10 October 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114142/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/08/29/what-the-bleep-stereolab-does-some-actual-tunes/f5ecba58-415b-4394-aac6-9ebf56f59e6e/|url-status=live}}</ref> Erlewine of Allmusic stated that the album "[finds the group] deliberately recharging their creative juices" but he argued that ''Sound-Dust'' was "anchored in overly familiar territory."<ref>{{cite web | last=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r547823|pure_url=yes}} | website=AllMusic | title=Review (Sound-Dust) | access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref>

===2002–2010: Death of Hansen, later releases and hiatus===
In 2002, as they were planning their next album, Stereolab started building a studio north of [[Bordeaux]], France. ''[[ABC Music (Stereolab album)|ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions]]''; a compilation of [[BBC Radio 1]] sessions was released in October.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r612216|pure_url=yes}}|title=Review (ABC Music: The Radio 1 Sessions)|last=Mason, Stewart|website=AllMusic|access-date=1 June 2007}}</ref> In the same year, Gane and Sadier's romantic relationship ended.<ref name="McNair (2004)">{{cite news|url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040130/ai_n9686514|title=Rock & pop: Total eclipse of the heart|last=McNair, James|work=The Independent|access-date=30 January 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016152935/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040130/ai_n9686514|archive-date=16 October 2007}}</ref>{{Quote box
| quote = Losing Mary is still incredibly painful&nbsp;...&nbsp;But it's also an opportunity to transform and move on. It's a new version. We've always had new versions, people coming in and out. That's life.<ref>{{cite news | last=Laban, Linda | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-115189718.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035048/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-115189718.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 |work=Boston Herald  | title=Stereolab changes with 'Eclipse' | date=9 April 2004}}</ref> 
| source = —Sadier, 2004
| align = right| width = 25em
}}

On 9 December 2002, Hansen was killed when hit by a truck while riding her bicycle in London.<ref name="McLean (2019)" /> She was 36. Writer Pierre Perrone said that her "playful nature and mischievous sense of humour came through in the way she approached the backing vocals she contributed to Stereolab and the distinctive harmonies she created with Sadier."<ref name="perrone"/> For the next few months, Stereolab lay dormant as the members grieved. They eventually decided to continue. Future album and concert reviews would mention the effects of Hansen's absence.<ref name="Harvey (2017)" /><ref name="DeRogatis (2003)"/><ref name="Harrington (2004)"/><ref name="Wagner (2004)">{{cite news | last=Wagner, Lori | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113256578.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103035134/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-113256578.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 |publisher=The Virginian Pilot  | title=Music Reviews: A little old, a little new from Stereolab. (Daily Break) | date=13 February 2004}}</ref>

The EP ''[[Instant 0 in the Universe]]'' (October 2003) was recorded in France, and was Stereolab's first release following Hansen's death. Music journalist [[Jim DeRogatis]] said that the EP marked a return to their earlier, harder sound—"free from the pseudo-funk moves and avant-garde tinkering that had been inspired by Chicago producer Jim O'Rourke".<ref name="DeRogatis (2003)">{{cite news | last=DeRogatis, Jim | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4194873.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103034504/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4194873.html | archive-date=3 November 2012 | work=Chicago Sun-Times | publisher=Sun-Times News Group | title=Stereolab, "Instant O in the Universe" (Elektra) | date=5 October 2003}}</ref>

Stereolab's eighth album, ''[[Margerine Eclipse]]'', was released on 27 January 2004 with generally positive reviews,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/stereolab/margerineeclipse?q=stereolab | website=Metacritic | title=Margerine Eclipse | access-date=6 June 2007 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114110/https://www.metacritic.com/music/margerine-eclipse/stereolab | url-status=live }}</ref> and peaked at number 174 on the US Billboard 200. The track "Feel and Triple" was written in tribute to Hansen; Sadier said, "I was reflecting on my years with her&nbsp;... reflecting on how we sometimes found it hard to express the love we had for one another."<ref name="McNair (2004)"/> Sadier continued, "Our dedication to her on the album says, 'We will love you till the end', meaning of our lives. I'm not religious, but I feel Mary's energy is still around somewhere. It didn't just disappear."<ref name="McNair (2004)"/> The ''[[The Observer|Observer]]'''s Molloy Woodcraft gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that Sadier's vocal performance as "life- and love-affirming", and the record as a whole as "Complex and catchy, bold and beatific."<ref>{{cite news | last=Woodcraft, Molloy | url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/omm/reviews/story/0,,1133242,00.html | work=[[The Observer]] | title=Stereolab: Margerine Eclipse | date=1 February 2004 | access-date=11 June 2007 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114050/https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/reviews/story/0,,1133242,00.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Kelefa Sanneh commented in ''Rolling Stone'' that ''Margerine Eclipse'' was "full of familiar noises and aimless melodies".<ref>{{cite magazine | last=Sanneh, Kelefa | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/4938923/review/5943038 | magazine=Rolling Stone | title=Margerine Eclipse | date=5 February 2004 | access-date=15 September 2017 | archive-date=12 January 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114128/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/ }}</ref> ''Margerine Eclipse'' was Stereolab's last record to be released on American label Elektra Records, which shut down that same year.<ref name="Eliscu (2004)">{{cite magazine|last=Eliscu, Jenny |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/stereolab/articles/story/6085957/warner_to_ax_eighty_artists |magazine=Rolling Stone  |title=Warner to Ax Eighty Artists |date=3 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016075201/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/stereolab/articles/story/6085957/warner_to_ax_eighty_artists |archive-date=16 October 2007 }}</ref> Future material would be released on Too Pure, the same label which had released some of the band's earliest material.<ref name="beggars.com">{{cite web | url=http://www.beggars.com/us/monade/index.html | website=Official Website | publisher=Beggars Group, USA | title=Monade | access-date=26 May 2007| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070202110910/http://www.beggars.com/us/monade/index.html| archive-date = 2 February 2007}}</ref>

[[File:Stereolab glass house (2878601320).jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Stereolab performing in [[Pomona, California|Pomona]], California in 2008]]
The group released six limited-edition singles in 2005 and 2006, which were anthologised in the 2006 compilation ''[[Fab Four Suture]]'', and contained material which Mark Jenkins thought continued the brisker sound of the band's post-Hansen work.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jenkins |first=Mark |title=STEREOLAB "Fab Four Suture ..." |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-110126.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214064733/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-110126.html |archive-date=14 December 2018 |access-date=11 December 2018 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=17 March 2006 |language=en}}</ref> By June 2007, Stereolab's line-up comprised Tim Gane, Lætitia Sadier, Andy Ramsay, Simon Johns, Dominic Jeffrey, Joseph Watson, and Joseph Walters.<ref>{{cite web |via=[[MySpace]]|title=Stereolab |url=http://www.myspace.com/stereolab |access-date=12 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080707041641/http://www.myspace.com/stereolab |archive-date=7 July 2008}}</ref> In 2008, the band issued their next album under the label [[4AD]] titled, ''[[Chemical Chords]]'', which "[downplays] their arsenal of analog synths in favor of live instrumentation".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://fasterlouder.junkee.com/st-jeromes-laneway-festival-line-up-2009/796275|title=St Jerome's Laneway Festival line-up 2009|date=12 October 2008|work=FasterLouder|access-date=8 March 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114050/https://music.junkee.com/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2009, Stereolab manager Martin Pike announced a pause in their activities for the time being. He said that it was an opportune time for the members to move on to other projects.<ref>{{cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=2 April 2009 |title=Stereolab Go on Hiatus |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/34993-stereolab-go-on-hiatus/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114128/https://pitchfork.com/news/34993-stereolab-go-on-hiatus/ |archive-date=12 January 2021 |access-date=14 August 2018 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Not Music]]'', a collection of unreleased material recorded at the same time as ''Chemical Chords'', was released in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stereolab: Not Music Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14838-not-music/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114111/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14838-not-music/ |archive-date=12 January 2021 |access-date=25 December 2017 |website=Pitchfork}}</ref>

===2019–present: Reunion and ''Instant Holograms on Metal Film''===
In February 2019, the group announced a tour of Europe and the United States to coincide with expanded, remastered reissues of several of the albums released under [[Warp Records]].<ref name="McLean (2019)" /> Stereolab were part of the lineup for 2019's Primavera Sound festival, taking part on the weekend of 30 May in Barcelona, Spain, and the following weekend in Porto, Portugal. It was the group's first live performance since 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2018/12/stereolab-reunion-shows/|title=Sounds Like Stereolab Are Coming Back|last=Cush|first=Andy|date=4 December 2018|website=Spin|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517201012/https://www.spin.com/2018/12/stereolab-reunion-shows/|archive-date=17 May 2019|url-status=live|access-date=17 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/primavera-sound-festival-lineup-cardi-b-janelle-monae-interpol-solange-763618/|title=Primavera Sound: Cardi B, Janelle Monae, Interpol, Solange Lead 2019 Lineup|first=Ryan|last=Reed|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=5 December 2018|access-date=19 June 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114130/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/primavera-sound-festival-lineup-cardi-b-janelle-monae-interpol-solange-763618/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.shrapnel.org/b2/2019/06/06/1-stereolab-at-primavera-sound-2019-youtube/|title=Stereolab at Primavera Sound 2019|website=shrapnel.org|access-date=19 June 2019|archive-date=12 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112114132/http://shrapnel.org/b2/2019/06/06/1-stereolab-at-primavera-sound-2019-youtube/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 April 2025, the band announced their first album of brand-new material in 15 years, ''[[Instant Holograms on Metal Film]]''. It was accompanied by the release of ''Aerial Troubles'' as a single and music video on the same day.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stereolab announces first album in 15 years|last=Gillis|first=Drew|url=https://www.avclub.com/stereolab-new-album-instant-holograms-on-metal-film|date=8 April 2025|website=[[The A.V. Club]]}}</ref>