Stereo Total

Always more grab-bag than two-headed beast, Stereo Total has consistently drawn from a vast sonic landscape. Though spearheaded by the French/German duo of Francois Cactus and Brezel Göring, past records have included lyrics in English, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, as well their native tongues. To a similar effect, the group's pop sensibilities reflect a myriad of musical tropes; hooks are found in garage-rock keyboards, disco drums, punk-rock guitar distortion, breathy lounge vocals, and pretty much anywhere else an ambitious sampler might troll for pop-collage gold. While their recent efforts to synthesize these various points of reference have led to a sound akin to a tightly stuffed and cuted-over Frankensteinian hook-monster, the duo's excellent new album, Paris-Berlin, reconciles Parisian decadence with German precision, creating a leaner product—more raw and cool. Logic dictates it should be a bit more realistic to pull off live, too. Kitchen-sink kitsch never sounded so good. With Octopus Project and Solid Gold.
Sat., Sept. 1, 8 p.m.