LAIKA
GOOD LOOKING BLUES
ALBUM TOO PURE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 28, 2000 REVIEW: FEBRUARY 25, 2000


The worn out term “post rock” was used by way too academic music magazine The Wire to describe the British band Laika. Kind of worrying considering how many deadly boring and pretentious bands that have grown out of that genre the last few years.
And Laika could easily have become as stiff as Stereolab, a band with similar influences. But unlike Stereolab, who always makes me want to listen to anything with a bit of life in it, the inject their music with a healthy dose of rough edges and hip hop elements.
“Good Looking Blues” is Laika’s third album since they debuted in 1994. Here it is possible to draw parallels to as diverse things as Tricky’s big city paranoia, Salaryman’s hell-bent live electronica, Can’s repetitive, yet ever changing song structures and even Coil’s hallucinogenic soundscapes. But Laika’s strength is that still sound like nothing but themselves. “Good Looking Blues” is an extremely psychedelic album, in the word’s true sense (unlike many rock bands that are dubbed “psychedelic” merely because of their long songs...). Laika intervenes sweet pop tunes, dub laden rhythms, creepy sound effects and sudden hits of shrieking brass. The live played and sampled elements twist around each other in a way so seamless that it seams impossible to say what is what.
A big asset is also the vocalist Margaret Fiedler, who switches between soft rap and desperate singing. Her lyrics further enhance the psychedelic feeling.
Call this post rock if you want. Or plainly call it psychedelica. Just make sure you listen.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN