Laika's Orbit - Chosen No Ones LP - Clear Vinyl (/100)

Dead Broke (2019)

No Matter What It Takes, the 2016 album by Laika's Orbit knocked me on my ass when I first heard it.  I've been anxiously waiting for their follow up and I'm happy to say it's finally here.  Chosen No Ones picks up where the last LP left off, with hook-filled guitar pop songs and a bouncy energy that fills the room.

The first comparison that always comes to mind when I listen to Laika's Orbit is with the band Title Tracks.  Vocally, I think both bands are very similar and both singers have a knack for writing earworm melodies that rattle around in my head for weeks at a time.  Both bands also lean towards the jangly guitar power-pop spectrum of rock music and share similarities with a band like The White Wires on one song and Tom Petty on the next.  In fact, there's something about the song "Lucky Ones" that really puts my brain in Damn The Torpedoes mode.  This song feels like a kindred spirit with "Even The Losers."

The whole album is a fun listen.  I tend to listen to a lot of vinyl on Sunday mornings and there's something about throwing on this Laika's Orbit record that really fits the mood.  No Matter What It Takes had the advantage of coming out of nowhere to impress me.  With Chosen No Ones, I came in with high expectations, but Laika's Orbit had no problem at all living up to the bar that I had set for them in my mind.  It's a really great record.

Laika's Orbit - Chosen No Ones:
https://laikasorbit.bandcamp.com/album/chosen-no-ones

Laika's Orbit - No Matter What It Takes LP

Total Negativity (2016)

This is one of the few instances where I can flatly say that I have no idea where I heard about this band.  Somewhere in my online record shopping excursions, I must have stumbled across this album and made a mental note to check them out at some point.  I flicked through a few songs on the Laika's Orbit Bandcamp page and then ordered the LP.  I wish I could thank whoever had drawn my attention to this record, because I absolutely love it.

This is the sort of perfect, medium-fi, bouncy pop record that I could listen to a hundred times a day.  Upbeat and energetic with killer vocal melodies and so many hooks that I'm almost tempted to write a bad analogy to compare the record to something that has a lot of hooks.  The first reference point that I immediately hear is the band Title Tracks, who coincidently had put out one of my favorite LPs of the past several years back in 2011.  I also think that fans of The Yolks would be into this, though Laika's Orbit strikes me as much catchier.  Did you like White Wires? Probably a good idea to check this record out.

I love everything about this album from the jangle of the rhythm guitar to the slight fuzz of the vocals to the perfect drumming and the bouncing bass lines.  This is absolutely, no questions asked one of the top five records I've heard this year.  Probably top three really.  I can't recommend it highly enough, especially if you are into any of the bands I mentioned way back in paragraph two.  Seriously, go buy this right now.

Laika's Orbit - No Matter What It Takes:

https://laikasorbit.bandcamp.com/album/no-matter-what-it-takes