Stereolab – Melodie Is A Wound

Stereolab return with “Melodie Is A Wound,” a track that does what they do best: glide through existential critique while sounding vaguely like a utopian train ride. It’s the second single from their first full-length album in 15 years, Instant Holograms On Metal Film—a title that already hints at the analogue/digital dissonance they’ve made a career out of.

Sonically, “Melodie Is A Wound” isn’t here to surprise anyone—it’s all swing and synth charm. Laetitia Sadier doesn’t dance around the message: freedom of speech is in tatters, justice is elusive, and power structures stay busy gagging the public. Somehow, the delivery still floats—proof that irony and optimism can coexist.

The structure plays with restraint. A fake-out ending disrupts the rhythm, leading to a dreamy instrumental epilogue where acoustic textures and psychedelic buzz blend into a new form. Stereolab, as ever, write songs like systems: built to loop, morph, and quietly critique the mechanisms running the show.

And because a song alone wasn’t quite enough, they’ve paired this one with a cryptic crossword designed by The Guardian’s Alan Connor.