While making Margerine Eclipse, Stereolab encountered more than their fair share of hardships and heartbreak. Just before the band started the album's sessions, keyboardist/vocalist Mary Hansen died at just 36 when the bicycle she was riding was hit by a truck in December 2002. Despite their loss, Stereolab decided to continue recording at the new studio they were building in the Médoc region of France but had difficulties completing its construction. It's something of a miracle, then, that Margerine Eclipse not only exists but is some of the most joyful music of Stereolab's latter-day career. The fizzy "Margerine Rock" sounds like it could've appeared on a volume of Switched On -- and as a matter of fact, the band reinterpreted unused recordings they made for Carlton Television back in 1992 throughout the album.

- AllMusic.com