EP: Demo - Laika’s Orbit

Words: Lindsey Sprague of Daddy issues

“Starry Eyes” by The Records is my #1 happy song. It is one of the few songs I know that is perfect for everything. You can listen to it when you’re super sad, when you’re driving, when you’re eating breakfast, when you’re making out, etc. and it is always exactly what I want to hear. The way the guitar starts, the drums build, and the triumphant lead guitar comes in makes me feel like I’m 9 and I just ate one of those giant pixie sticks and all I can do is jump up and down. It makes me THAT happy.

Listening to Laika’s Orbit also makes me feel like this. The band released their first demo tracks in January of this year, and every single one of the 5 songs is power pop perfection. The songs are upbeat, the guitar leads are clean and jangly, the rhythm guitar and bass are fuzzy and distorted, and the vocal melodies are so catchy I want to simultaneously hug and punch whoever wrote them because they’re stuck in my head forever now (“Just Perfect” and “Let Me Off” in particular).

A lot of bands are doing a 90s-style indie revival thing, and a lot of them do it really well. Replicating something perfectly, even though it’s impressive, can still be pretty boring. Laika’s Orbit doesn’t fall anywhere near this category. They take clear influence from Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement, but you also hear Marked Men punk and satisfying echoes of Nick Lowe and Flying Nun pop. The songs are simple enough to be immediately catchy but intricate enough that you can tell they’re legitimately good at playing their instruments. I know almost nothing about this band except that they are four talented people from New England whose first released demo recordings show a band that’s already tighter and better than most bands that have been together much longer.

They have an LP coming out soon on Total Negativity Records and they just announced tour dates!

Tour:

June 5: Boston
June 6: New Haven
June 7: NYC
June 8: New Brunswick
June 9: TBA
June 10: Raleigh
June 11: Pittsburgh
June 12: Rochester, NY
June 13: WMASS
June 14: Providence, RI