Laika & The Cosmonauts: Local Warming ...CD review by Ann Rein

Laika & The Cosmonauts: Local Warming

...by Ann Rein

     Yep Roc Records has a very nice surprise in store for us on January 13, 2004. A truly memorable CD from Laika & The Cosmonauts will be hitting the streets, marking the first studio album release in six years for Finland's #1 surf/instro band. Local Warming is brimming with hot guitars, potent keyboards, powerful drums and driving bass. Superb musicianship, coupled with some strikingly unique music, definitely make this CD worth a visit to your favorite music outlet in January.

     The extreme diversity and unique content of Laika & The Cosmonauts' music is clearly evident throughout the offerings on this 12 track gem. Putting your finger on the exact sound the guys are projecting in each cut is no easy task. Local Warming is reminiscent of Joe Meek – with a modern Euro/instro feel. That's good for the listener because we're privy to a dazzling array of genre-crossing music, but it's bad for the bands who want to imitate them – not an easy thing to do by any means. Laika & The Cosmonauts have that special sound, that certain something, and it's all there. It is definitely there.

     As I mentioned, trying to pinpoint their sound isn't an easy task. It's totally cool, though, no doubt about it. The first cut, N.Y. '79, speaks to Joe Meek all the way. It, alone, is worth the price of the CD. Crosstown Canyon is almost ethereal with a captivating orchestrated spy sound. The track that follows it, Nocturne of the Neon Night, has something of an electronic ring to the underlying tones. There's humor to be found in Liposuction when a tribute to the carnival of body alteration teases us at the end. Soulmate is provocatively subtle and mellifluous. Mr. Melée appropriately races through brazen passages that will set your heart thumping in beat to the tune. The other cuts all bring their own equally unique musical blend into the album's diverse mixture.

     After listening to Local Warming I couldn't help but wonder why the surf rock community got so lucky as to get Laika & The Cosmonauts in our little genre rather than lose them to the bigger, higher paying styles. I'll tell you a secret, though. I'm thrilled. I'm not one to go out and get a copy of every new CD that comes out, but Laika & The Cosmonauts are now – and forever – on my Must Buy List.

     Laika & The Cosmonauts are Janne Haavisto on drums, Mikko Lankinen on guitar, Tom Nyman on bass and Matti Pitsinki on keyboards and guitar. They are, in two words, classy and unexpected. That's a good thing. They play with finesse, mix it up like the waves on the North Shore and have firmly planted their unique sound on this music lover's beach.

Laika & The Cosmonauts: Local Warming

01) N.Y. '79
02) The Key Role
03) Haroosh
04) Crosstown Canyon
05) Nocturne Of The Neon Night
06) Rikki On The Loose
07) Liposuction
08) Apt. 23B
09) Soulmate
10) Disco-Plank
11) Meneito Paraiso
12) Mr. Melée

3:41
2:36
3:21
4:16
3:04
2:42
2:53
3:34
4:14
3:08
2:50
3:47

Laika & The Cosmonauts: Local Warming

Laika & The Cosmonauts 2004
Licensed exclusively to Yep Roc Records
Manufactured and Distributed by Redeye
http://www.myspace.com/laikaandthecosmonauts
http://www.yeproc.com

Reviewed by
Ann Rein
© Ann Rein 2004
All Rights Reserved