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Artist: Laika
Title: "Good Looking Blues;
Label: Too Pure Records
Reviewed by: Vinnie Apicella
Rating:
 
   
A bold flash of eroticism beckons you on the come hither tale of the lead track "Black Cat Bone," and suddenly you're no longer resting comfortably in what has now become your "uneasy" chair. The darkness swarms upon you, a titillating desire to delve further into the ambient strains flowing within the confines of "Laika's" newest and most innovative creation, "Good Looking Blues." The name, a bit misleading at times, ventures far off into the unexplained. Where "Blues" holds little meaning in a literal zone, "Good Looking" appears right on target in this fresh lauding of aural listening pleasure.

Led by ex-"Moonshakers" vocalist Margaret Fiedler and bassist John Frenett, we ourselves are led by an oncoming rush of hybrid moments lapsed fervently through the use of mesmerizing echo, fiery drum and bass grooves and guitar-led modern rock fusion. The stillness of the night comes crashing wholly in a turbulent reactionary display that often lulls the senses into a false sense of security. By design, "Laika," as innovative as the event they're named after, touches upon irreversible and unconscious degrees of inspiration while veering off into no one direction in particular.

Slipping in programmable dance beats with moments of jazz and hip-hop led overtones, along with the soothing croon of Fiedler's over, yet not always above vocal lushness, "Good Looking Blues" emanates a radiant energy in a dark and tranquil setting that darts in and out with a spiritual essence and descends quickly on a cathartic collision course with the world below.