(Bungalow/Rough Trade)
A trashy mixture of easy sensibilities, French, German, and English lyrics (all with a heavy French accent), punky guitars, and odd Stereolab-ish electronics and keyboards, Monokini shows Stereo Total as capable of entering the pantheon of weird pop alongside the likes of Pizzicato Five, Combustible Edison, Cibo Matto, perhaps even Pussy Galore.
On their sophomore effort Berlin's Stereo Total take control of their own destiny, writing all but four of the 15 titles on the album. Despite the absence of the crutches that propped their debut - covers of hits by Brigitte Bardot and KC and the Sunshine Band, among others - Monokini easily outclasses their debut, Oh Ah Ah.
From the primal, cave-girl rock of "Lunatique" and "LA,CA, USA" to the croony new wave of "Supergirl," the sampled Hawaiian zaniness of "Shoen Von Hinten" to the spaghetti western feel of "Furore," Monokini stays interesting and varied.
Francoise Cactus handles most of the vocal chores, with a voice that has the same qualities as Bardot: not exactly full, or even in tune, but fun and animated and well-suited to the music.
The easy listening background of the band is on display on a few tracks, particularly "Dilindam" and "Cosmonaute," though they have skewed Monokini more toward their punky new wave side, perhaps taking inspiration from another rising Berlin band, the Poptarts, whose no-chord girlie punk anthems are frequently tipped to join Stereo Total at Bungalow Records. Stereo Total's "Tu M'as Voulue," for instance, brings to mind Platic Bertrand's Franco-punk classic, "Ca Plane Pour Moi."
The lead single, "Schoen Von Hinten" (i.e. pretty from behind), samples or imitates the big drum run at the beginning of the "Hawaii Five-O" theme song, then adds one of those slack island guitar tones to a spritely, Pizzicato Five-esque pop romp.
