Laika & The Cosmonauts "Cosmopolis 1988-2008" 2008

Finnish surf-revivalists Laika and the Cosmonauts reunited guitarist Mikko Lankinen and drummer Janne Haavisto, who previously teamed in the like-minded Pluto & the Astronauts. Adding guitarist/keyboardist Matti Pitsinki and bassist Tom Nyman, the group issued its debut album C'Mon Do the Laika! in 1988; Surfs You Right! followed two years later, and in 1993 Laika and the Cosmonauts resurfaced with Instruments of Terror. Subsequent efforts include 1995's Amazing Colossal Band and 1997's Absurdistan. Laika Sex Machine followed in early 2001. ~ Jason Ankeny
While 20 years is a nice round number on which to throw in the towel, the Finnish surf and spaghetti Western-influenced Laika & The Cosmonauts don't take the easy way out on this final bow. Running a bit-bursting 76 minutes, the cuts are drawn predominantly from six (five studio, one live) albums, most of which are out of print as of this set's appearance in 2008. Fans will be thrilled to find a few difficult to find tracks that open the disc. What makes “Cosmopolis” such a listenable collection, though, is the variety of styles Laika span, all unified by a common cinematic thread. The sound is never cluttered, with guitars and keyboards weaving around each other while leaving room for the music to breathe. - dwmmusic

trax:
01 Metropolis Theme 02 Floating 03 Rikki on the Loose 04 Note Crisis 05 Experiment in Terror 06 Global Village 07 Disconnected 08 Crosstown Canyon 09 Turquoise 10 Surfs You Right 11 Look! No Head! 12 Vendetta 13 Psyko 14 C'mon Do the Laika! 15 Fear 16 Boris the Conducter 17 Lands End 18 Circumstantial Evidence 19 Delayrium 20 NY '79 21 Expose 22 Get Carter 23 Fadeaway 24 The Ipcress File 25 Meneito Paraiso 26 S.P.Y.D.A.'s Web 27 Mary's Theme