Too Pure / Beggars
2003
Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing
About This Album
One common path for a band to take over the course of their career is to test-drive a musical formula for an album or two, and then transcend their sound by broadening themselves, experimenting with new genres, sonics, and lyrical inspirations. Such is the path for great bands as diverse as The Clash, Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Blur, and the Beastie Boys. For Laika, their fourth full-length album Wherever I Am I Am What Is Missing seemingly has them taking the path in reverse. Laika streamlined their recording process for the album, with lead singer/songwriter Margaret Fiedler, producer/engineer/songwriting partner Guy Fixsen, and drummer Lou Ciccotelli doing most of the playing and recording themselves. The results of excluding their frequent multi-instrumental collaborators are apparent throughout the album (and even alluded to with the album's title). That is not to say that Laika is missing the fundamental aspects of its trademark sound: syncopated beats, odd time signatures, subdued vocals, driving bass grooves, and quivering keyboards. However, without the aid of the additional instrumentation from their previous records (such as trumpets, loops, samples, and the sorely missed electric guitars), Laika's typically airy atmosphere sounds more sterilized this time around.
Track List (try tracks 1,3,4,5 and 8)

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