One of the most unexpected surprises of this year was Stereolab announcing they’d made a new album, their first in 15 years. Sure they’d been back together, touring, since 2019, but the frost between Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier had still felt subzero, as they performed on opposite ends of the stage, not really acknowledging each other. Clearly things have melted since then, not only with the new album — which is great — but at their first of two nights at Brooklyn Steel, Stereolab were clearly having fun.
“We are SO excited to be here,” Sadier told the crowd, and you could tell she meant it. She was beaming throughout the show, which was heavy on Instant Holograms on Metal Film, and that was just fine. They opened with “Ariel Troubles,” which led into Emperor Tomato Ketchup’s “Motoroller Scalatron,” and then another new one, “Vermona F Transistor.” Hearing these in the context of their older material, the album already feels like a classic.
With Instant Holograms in the spotlight, the more vintage song selections were “hits,” with “Miss Modular,” “Cybele’s Reverie,” “Percolator,” a roaring “Peng! 33” and more. Stereolab have always been a politically outspoken band and Sadier talked a few times about the current state of the world. Introing “Melodie is a Wound,” she renamed it “Capitalism is a Wound,” saying, “I might not be allowed to say that in a few days, so now whenever I can, I stick it in.”
This was without a doubt the best Stereolab show I’ve seen since they’ve reformed.
Stereolab are a band for collectors, and the merch table line snaked from the lobby into the performance room as fans lined up to by t-shirts, tour-only vinyl, laundry bags, egg cups, ice cube trays, and more.
Making this show even better was openers MEMORIALS, the duo of Verity Susman (Electrelane) and Matthew Simms (Wire, It Hugs Back). For just two people they do a lot, thanks to vintage electronics and loop pedals. Simms played guitar and would switch mid-song to drums, while Susman alternated between keyboards and sax and singing. MEMORIALS’ music is a perfect match for Stereolab; they make drony psych that ranged from baroque ’60s acid pop to Can-esque pounding krautrock to heavy psych with Susman absolutely wailing. (Also very The Doors at times.) They were proper loud, too — not always the case with an opener — and the trippy but simple visuals were the perfect accompaniment. If you haven’t heard their great 2024 album Memorial Waterslides, check it out, and they’ve got a new one out in the spring.
This was MEMORIALS’ last show with Stereolab and they’re now heading to the West Coast for a few headline club shows. Stereolab play Brooklyn Steel again tonight with Dorothea Paas, who is on the second leg of the tour and also worth getting there early for.
Photos from the whole night by Dimitry Mak, along with setlists for Stereolab and MEMORIALS, are below.
SETLIST: Stereolab @ Brooklyn Steel 10/1/2025
Aerial Troubles
Motoroller Scalatron
Vermona F Transistor
Peng! 33
The Flower Called Nowhere
Melodie Is a Wound
If You Remember I Forgot How to Dream Pt. 1
If You Remember I Forgot How to Dream Pt. 2
Miss Modular
Household Names
Electrified Teenybop!
Esemplastic Creeping Eruption
Cybele’s Reverie
Encore:
The Way Will Be Opening
Percolator
Immortal Hands
SETLIST: MEMORIALS @ Brooklyn Steel 10/1/2025
Lamplighter
Peacemaker
Acceptable Experience
Name Me
Dropped Down the Well
Cut It Like a Diamond
Boudicaaa