It's fitting that Slumerbland Records is putting out the new Peel Dream Magazine album. The label that helped Americans like me first hear Stereolab sides some two decades ago is now offering the most Stereolab-like record I could ever possibly imagine. That's not just lazy writing from a reviewer; Agitprop Alterna, out on Friday on Slumerbland Records, sounds a whole lot like that first clutch of 'Lab singles.
Now, while the first Peel Dream Magazine had a similar vibe, this one is more obvious in its debts to Sadier and Gane and crew. Lead single "Pill" buzzes with weird retro energy, while the more complex "It's My Body" is a mid-tempo ramble that feels like something relatively new for this crew. Elsewhere, a number like "NYC Illuminati" sees the band trade in the familiar touchstones for nods in the direction of Loop and Spiritualized. No one would accuse this band of being a shoegaze act, but there is an interest in fuzzy feedback here that rivals that of the pioneers of that genre's first wave.
Normally I'd knock a band for being this beholden to their influences. However, in the case of Peel Dream Magazine, they do this kind of thing so very well that it would feel unfair. Instead, what's really happening here on Agitprop Alterna is that we're hearing something that's as close to Stereolab circa 1992 to 1994 as we're ever likely to hear again. And while a number like "Permanent Moral Crisis" plays with the formula a bit, as does the spry "Eyeballs", a cut that sounds the faintest bit like Primal Scream from around the turn of the century, the style on this album suggests that Peel Dream Magazine are going back to the well more than scan for new influences. But, look, Peel Dream Magazine know what they're doing. And if they want to pursue a singular muse with this sort of devotion, I for one want to praise them for it. I never got tired of those Stereolab records so I'm likely not going to get tired of this one either. Why criticize a band for doing a thing so well? Why criticize a release that gives you the same sort of joy you've been chasing as a listener for decades? Agitprop Alterna delivers so dig it!
Agitprop Alterna is out on Friday via Slumerbland Records.
More details on Peel Dream Magazine via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited press photo]