Regarded by many people to be their masterpiece, 1997’s much-loved Dots And Loops saw “the groop” embrace new recording techniques and a wider palette of influences to produce an expansive, experimental but eminently listenable piece of work that has more than withstood the test of time.

Recorded partly in Chicago by John McEntire of Tortoise, and partly in Düsseldorf with Mouse On Mars, the band expanded their motorik rhythms to take in elements of bossa nova, ye-ye, jazz fusion and the sample-based approach of contemporary hip-hop. On release it was embraced far beyond the band’s traditional alternative music orbit, sitting easily in the racks alongside records produced by Timbaland and the Neptunes, with Pharrell Williams from the latter crew expressing his love for the band on numerous occasions. That cultural crossover has continued, with the use of “Parsec” in a Volkswagen Bettle commercial, Laetitia Sadier’s collaboration with Tyler The Creator and Frank Ocean, and the recent use of “The Flower Called Nowhere” in a key scene from the Atlanta TV show.

Reissued in 2019 alongside other key Stereolab studio albums, this expanded edition was remastered from the original tapes by Tim Gane at Calyx in Berlin, bringing out revelatory nuances and sonic heft in the multi-layered arrangements. This very special album really has never sounded better. A whole extra disc of bonus material has been added, taking in instrumental cuts, early demos, and key rarities such as “Off-On”, only previously released in Japan. A fold-out poster contains liner notes from the band, with all 3 LPs housed in a high quality gatefold sleeve with a protective PVC outer. Warp and the band’s own Duophonic UHF Disks label pulled out all the stops for this, a fitting testament to a modern classic.