Even by Stereolab’s standards Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night is an ambitious record. Originally released in 1999, the group’s sixth LP clocked in at fifteen tracks and well over an hour in length. For the recording of Cobra And Phases… Stereolab’s core unit were joined by a set of additional musicians that included Jim O’Rourke (Sonic Youth), John McEntire (Tortoise) and Tim Hopper (Captain Beefheart). With this crew in tow, Tim Gane, Laetitia Sadier et al were able to augment their singular brand of library-rock with influences from free jazz, baroque art-pop ala David Axelrod and fusion-funk.

Cobra And Phases… was already a hefty tome, but this new pressing of the LP by Duophonic and Warp more than doubles the length of the original track-listing by throwing in demos, rarities and bonus tracks. The additional tracks here shed new light on the core album. It’s fascinating to see how ‘Blue Milk’ evolved from a dreamy wander of a demo to the paradigm-shifting psychedelia of its final form. Likewise ‘Italian Shoes Continuum’ and ‘Caleidoscopic Gaze’, tracks that had morphed into psych-rock extravaganzas by the time Stereolab hit the studio. Indeed, the tale of ‘…Continuum’ is made all the more fascinating by two additional unreleased versions that are included alongside the demo and album recording. Each full of vim, vigour and invention, these tracks tell the Stereolab story in miniature – a band always playing with the boundaries of their own sound and looking for ways to keep improving.

Duophonic and Warp’s Stereolab reissues series bears more fruit with a bumper edition of the band’s 1999 LP Cobra And Phases Group Play Voltage In The Milky Night.