Stereolab don't work the crowd, but they don't have to. After a decade of controlled sonic experimentation, a legion of fans knows what to expect. In the test tube of this Brixton group's cool dabblings, krautrock and europop react with Moog synthesisers and tinny guitars, often yielding mixed results.
Taking the stage with the indifference of a catwalk model, French chanteuse Laetitia Sadier and her vocal accomplice Mary Hansen led off with the recent Nothing To Do With Me. Although its title sums up the band's largely non-committal attitude to performance, the song featured a neat division of labour between Sadier and Hansen, just as synth and guitar alternated as its driving force.
A judicious selection from their 10-year output skipped from record to record, avoiding anything within radar of the mainstream, while infusing their latest album, Sound Dust, with an aloof confidence. A nicely textured Les Hyper Sound opened with obligatory computer squeals before Andy Ramsay's rattling beats underscored Morgane Lhote's whimpering robot noises.
Sadier alternated between tambourine, Moog, trombone and listless dancing, as her diffident vocals stretched out like a morning yawn on Captain Easychord. Later, a laid-back Naught More Terrific Than Man launched a sedate lounge-room groove that was bolstered by Hansen's tinkled keyboard.
Moments of delicately warbled French song suggest that behind their chic protective shield, the lab technicians have a heart. But, ultimately, the exciting miasma of an extended French Disko brought to a close a gig based more on posturing than on passion.
