Play 90 second soundbite of 'Getaway' @ 'CD quality'
I admit that, initially, I didn't quite know whether I liked this album or not. But, that uncertainty was quickly dispelled and I found myself being swept along in Laika Dog's musical wake. Laika Dog have a looseness that's both charming and very appealing; they sound like a band on a mission but still a little unsure of what they actually want to achieve. Now, that's not a bad thing and Laika Dog get it nicely together and there's more than a touch of intrigue about them and their music. They've put some pretty awesome tracks together between them here even though, initially, it does tend to sound a bit of a mish-mash - but somehow they get there in the end and make it work.
Their approach here seems to have been to try to give the listener something that's accurate and true to type - a touch of musical reality at a time when so much of what we hear is generated through studio gimmickry and techno wizardry; Laika Dog do it with musical expression and feeling rather than through mouse clicking and over-engineering - it feels real, genuine and pretty 'ballsy'. And, Laika Dog rock without having to blast your ear drums out (although, turn it up to max vol and they'll certainly melt some ear wax!). Refreshingly, there's an underlying subtlety to their work which allows each component part of the whole to be heard and enjoyed for what it is.
Listening to 'Mercury' by Laika Dog is a bit like walking into a pawnshop and finding a hidden gem! So come in, look around and see if you don't walk away with something quite unexpected but musically 'valuable'! 'Mercury' by Laika Dog is a nicely balanced and well rounded work - refreshingly raw, inherently gripping and pretty much unputdownable!
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