Here is an experimental oddity, the likes of which French bands often excel at -- call it a sort of iron fist in an R.I.O. velvet glove. The release seems to be a composite of two previous vinyl efforts, from 1986, and 1990. S.T.P.O.'s style comes across as very much a studio project, something difficult to pull off in a live situation, in how it utilizes every trick of the avant trade: stark contrasts between chaos and order; blindingly fast jump-cut editing which spans the extremes of dynamics; wicked humour (well, from what I can glean by their attitude anyway...); every instrument you could imagine (acoustic and electric) is employed in painting the S.T.P.O. dada portrait of modern insanity. They appear as an eight-piece lineup, with four guests; all vocals are in French. I dare not conjecture too deeply about influences, but honestly this band makes Art Bears and Captain Beefheart sound positively tame by comparison (and I don't mean that as any kind of derision of those two bands). For those who seek the farther flung realms of no-boundary avant rock, trod by the likes of Motor Totemist Guild, Hunk Ai, The Residents, Ne Zdhali, etc., S.T.P.O. is just what you have been waiting for.
Mike Ezzo - Expose Magazine

La Societe Des Timides A La Parade Des Oiseaux (La STPO), which means "the shy people at the bird parade", have been active since the mid-1980's, and fit firmly into the same RIO branch of avant-progressive rock that bands like fellow Frenchmen Etron Fou Leloublon did. The band have apparently had a turbulent history as the information at the Beta-Lactam site indicates they've had 30 members over the years (they still play concerts). This set reissues an EP from 1986 and an LP from 1990, making for 22 tracks that are often less than a minute in length, and rarely exceed 3 minutes. Instrumentation includes guitar, bass, drums, synthesizers, trumpet, cello, clarinet, and vocals.
There are lots of stylistic influences here. The music has the same quirky rhythms and theatrical (often humorous) vocals that Etron Fou did, and one singer is even a dead ringer for Gigou Chevenier. But the trumpets also provide a powerful reminder of Dr Nerve, and I also hear wee traces of more standard jazz trumpet. Transitioning at lightening pace between tracks and themes, the music will at one instant be embroiled in an avant-prog stage drama, and then move on to what sounds like free improvisation along the lines of Henry Cow in their more abstract moments. The band can also rock hard and have a very good guitarist who I would have liked to have heard take a more active role. The guitar adds lots of free improv styled noise and aggression, but can also kick out some fiery shred soloing.
If you're a follower of RIO styled prog rock then it's pretty much assured that you'll like La STPO. They follow in the footsteps of others, making analogies easy, but do a good job of making these sounds their own as they come roaring out of the starting gate and taking continual abrupt twists and turns that manage to flow seamlessly from start to finish. Just as fun as they are intense, I enjoyed being swept through La STPO's whimsical multi-themed set of creative constructions.
Aural Innovations #18 (January 2002)