Margerine Eclipse

Margerine Eclipse
Studio album by Stereolab
Released	27 January 2004 (2004-01-27)
Recorded	2003
Studio	Instant Zero (France)
Genre	Experimental rock[1] post-rock[2] electronica[1] lounge[3]
Length	53:41
Label	Duophonic Elektra
Stereolab chronology
Instant 0 in the Universe (2003) Margerine Eclipse (2004) Oscillons from the Anti-Sun (2005)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Alternative Press	4/5[6]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[7]
Entertainment Weekly	A−[8]
Mojo	[9]
The Observer	[1]
Pitchfork	7.6/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Spin	B−[12]
Uncut	[13]

Margerine Eclipse is the eighth studio album by English-French rock band Stereolab. It was released on 27 January 2004 in the United States by Elektra Records^[14][15] and on 2 February 2004 in the United Kingdom by Duophonic Records.^[14][16] The album is in large part a eulogy to former band member Mary Hansen, who died in 2002.

By June 2004, Margerine Eclipse had sold over 40,000 copies in the USA.^[17] A remastered and expanded edition of the album was released by Duophonic and Warp on 29 November 2019.^[18]

In December 2002, Stereolab member Mary Hansen was killed in a cycling accident.^[19] The band subsequently dedicated Margerine Eclipse to Hansen,^[20] with the lyrics of the song "Feel and Triple" making specific reference to her.^[5][16][21] Shortly before work commenced on the album, band members Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier ended their romantic relationship.^[19][21] Their breakup is alluded to in Sadier's lyrics for the song "Hillbilly Motobike".^[21]

Margerine Eclipse was mixed with full stereo separation – or as Stereolab termed it, in "dual mono".^[21] For every song, the band made two recordings – each with a different arrangement – then created a final mix by synchronising both recordings together, with one on the left channel and the other on the right channel.^[21] The technique was also used on the band's 2003 EP Instant 0 in the Universe.

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.^[23]

Stereolab

• Tim Gane – electric guitar, electronics, organ
• Lætitia Sadier – vocals, trombone on "Margerine Melodie"
• Dominic Jeffery – organ, electric piano, harpsichord, celeste
• Simon Johns – bass, drums on "Margerine Rock"
• Andy Ramsay – drums, drum machine

Additional musicians

• Fulton Dingley – drum machine, synthesizer, MIDI, percussion
• Sean O'Hagan – keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars, other instruments
• Jan St. Werner – electronics on "Vonal Declosion" and "Feel and Triple"

Production

• Fulton Dingley – engineering, mixing
• Stereolab (credited as "The Groop") – mixing

• Margerine Eclipse at official Stereolab website
• Margerine Eclipse at Discogs (list of releases)
• Margerine Eclipse at MusicBrainz (list of releases)