Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE STARS, AS SEEN FROM EARTH, March 23, 2000
After the busy, dizzy soundscapes of "Silver Apples of the Moon," Laika return two years later with the cooler, spacier sonic drifts of "Sounds of the Satellites." There are still clanks, quirks and rattles a'plenty, but with larger spaces in between. "Prarie Dog" lopes and glistens, like stars twinkling over a grassy hill. "Spooky Rhodes" and "Breather" pillow you on lush drifts of gentle electronica. "Bedbugs" and "Poor Gal" stir up the mix with car alarms, clanks, inner city groove and outerspace noise. "Blood and Bones" hits a happy medium, tempo, noise and space.Lyrically, Margaret Fiedler is still mining the same vein she hit on "Silver Apples"--domestic violence ("Shut Off/Curl Up"), feminism ("Bedbugs"), and characters from the edge of society ("Poor Gal"). This album also contains some of Margaret's darkest lyrics ever: "Dead dreams dropping off the heart like leaves in a dry season" ("Breather"); "There are things I can't explain; why tornadoes love the plains; why my dreams have lost their wings..." ("Spooky Rhodes"). Over all, a more haunting album than "Silver Apples," but just as worthy to belong in any discerning music fan's collection. And if they've still got some left, the liner notes tell you how to get a Laika snowglobe.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
synchopated layers, January 29, 2000
First listening in the car was too unfocused to really appreciate this cd. I'd have to agree this one doesn't neccessarily fit in any 'genre' of electronic. Playing now on the boom box in the quiet concentrated night, the music takes flight. Vocals thick and husky, yet still flying about like the higher voiced siren types. Sure you could dance to it, but not the same old bass drum endless mix. These folks are exploring some new areas. Not exactly world beat, cousins in conception perhaps. Organic drumming, electronic backfill. Guitar much apreciated. The lyrics will take a few headphone listenings. You can spend time with this cd. I'd suggest it, if you are looking for something intelligent but genuinely inventive. And still, fun. Feels more like a celebration than the moody stuff that many of their contemporaries are putting out these days. I wish I could provide a comparison, but I can't. That's one of the better reasons to consider the music. It is unique. Contemporary, not over the edge for the sake of 'originality'.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Haunting, ambient, complex, but always musical., February 24, 2000
This is one of the few records that lives up to the promise of electronic music. Some of the tracks are very complex, but they always remain musical. Laika uses a mixture of new technology like drum loops, and old technology (fender rhodes organ, electric bass) and the result is a very organic album. The songs really breathe in a way that few 'electronica' pieces do. Good lyrics also.
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by Laika 
