Laika and the Cosmonauts
(Yep Roc)
For its bloated 27-song track list and hour-and-16-minutes running time, Cosmopolis feels surprisingly concise. What could-and probably ought to be-a lesson in instro-rock tedium is instead a varied and dynamic trip. Tremolo-baked guitar lines waver like heat rising in the distance, reverberating sweetly into driving drum-beats that move from surf-boogie to Specials-ska. But the Cosmonauts' primary superlative is the excitement that seems to burst out of every track. From the riff-rockin' dance party of "Disconnected," to the Del-Tones flurry of notes in "Surfs You Right!," to the pensive, keyboard-led sci-fi score of "Psyko," each note feels urgent.
Here is a band always moving forward in its songs, never letting anything sit long enough to stagnate. But the career-spanning collection's biggest strength is in its oddball tracks: the aforementioned "Disconnected," which leans on its drum work to provide the momentum as guitar lines swirl in and out of the picture, and the funky "Circumstantial Evidence" are perfect examples. Elsewhere, the more straightforward surf-rock cuts tend to blend together. Each track is sharp, but clustered together, starts to become blunt, like a bed of nails-save of course, for the stylistic grab-bag Laika and the Cosmonauts use to keep things interesting over the course of a way long LP.
Standout Tracks: "Disconnected," "Circumstantial Evidence," "Psyko" BRYAN REED
