Stereolab are such an idiosyncratic band that it's hard to tell if an album is bad or not since it doesn't sound like anything else but them! To me, they are beyond criticism; a bad Stereolab album remains a good Stereolab album simply because it is Stereolab. I'm happy to report however that Chemical Chords is a good Stereolab album! It feels much more structured and playful than 2004's Margerine Eclipse; it's mix of lounge, Perrey & Kingsley-like psychedelia and krautrock has never sounded this good since Emperor Tomato Ketchup. Within a single song, one might feel projected back in time to the some tiki-lounge one second and smoking half a pack and three paints with Serge Gainsbourg the next. The band wear their influences on their sleeves with pride and it shows! I personally have a weakness for the band's shorter tracks on the album (Valley Hi! or Pop Chemical). There's enough here to keep me satisfied for another four years.