2019 is proving to be a banner year for fans of Stereolab. After May saw bumper reissues of both Mars Audiac Quintet and Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, three more of the seminal post-rock group’s albums have now been given the same treatment courtesy of Duophonic/Warp. Among their number is Stereolab’s fifth LP Dots And Loops.

In a way, it’s apt that Dots And Loops has lived on in the cultural memory on account of ‘Parsec’ being used in an advert for Volkswagen Beetles. This album contains some of Stereolab’s most precision-engineered music – a result, perhaps, of the contributions Mouse On Mars’ Jan St. Werner made to the record. Though there are still instances where Stereolab allow their hypnagogic blend of Krautrock, ye-ye and bossa nova to drift into the ether, generally the instrumentals here are bolted together more tightly than they were on Dots And Loops’ predecessor Emperor Tomato Ketchup. This allowed the band to incorporate dance music influences more readily than they had previously – breakbeats crop up on several tracks here while closer ‘Contronatura’ approaches disco.

Much like the recent editions of Mars Audiac Quintet and Transient Random-Noise Bursts With Announcements, this new pressing of Dots And Loops comes complete with a great deal of bonus material. Instrumentals of several cuts appear as additional tracks – a real treat for those of us who love to marvel at the richness of Stereolab’s arrangements. We also get the Japanese bonus track ‘Diagonals Bode Drums’, a few demos and an 808-workout entitled ‘Bonus Beats’. A poster and liner notes from band leader Tim Gane flesh out the vinyl pressing.

Duophonic and Warp delight fans of Stereolab once more by re-pressing the group’s 1997 album Dots And Loops.