Dance music is all about union. The union of disparate peoples all releasing their energy to sounds of bass, drums, and synths. The union of styles into an unusual stew of contrasting and complimentary elements. Even the union of good and bad taste. With Stereo Total all these unions can found bypassing the barrier of society; shame. In songs such as "Plastic" Francoise Cactus, former singer and drummer for the Lolitas, displays her punk aesthetic singing "I wanna be plastic too/ Less like me and more like you" against bubbling synths and a hyper-speed guitar. At other moments the duo appear almost adorable with their use of concise electronics and spare guitar accents, as in "Komplex Mit Dem Sex"; throughout though they remain subversive and maintain their stance of revolution. This is where I find room for criticism. On the bright and peppy "Baby Revolution" Francoise preaches a sexual revolution insisting "Out of the bedroom/ Into the streets/ The bed is the last barricade/ of bourgeois life" Which comes across didactic when you remember the words of John Lennon "So you want a revolution/ Well, we all want to change the world". Where Stereo Total really succeed in applying their "revolutionary" attitude is in their humour and in the intentionally repetitive and mundane songs such as "Relax Baby Be Cool". Paris Berlin is inventive and imaginative while grounded strongly in electronic and punk music aesthetics and ideology. To hear English, German, and French all coming from the same record is as refreshing as the blips, ticks, and joyful modernity unified in this un-expected success.



1. Miss Rebellion Des Hormones

2. Ich Bin Der Stricherjunge

3. Plastic

4. Komplex Mit Dem Sex

5. Lolita Fantome

6. Baisers De L'Enfer De La Musique

7. Plus Minus Null

8. Mehr Licht

9. Ta Voix Au Telephone

10. Patty Hearst

11. Baby Revolution

12. Relax Baby Be Cool

13. Chewinggum

14. Moderne Musik