Local Warming by Laika & the Cosmonauts

The Finland-based surf rockers' first studio album in almost seven years finds them on terra firma. Not straight surf, this is rather surf-influenced instrumental guitar rock with touches of prog and the occasional Zappa-esque flourish. The band has shelved some of the experiments in rap, reggae, and electronica they toyed with on Absurdistan, but still playfully push the boundaries of their genre with twisty tempos and textured, nuanced arrangements. They remain generally bouncy, but these songs are extremely well conceived and often surprisingly complex as they avoid exclusively riding Ventures-styled waves. Matti Pitsinki's keyboards along with the occasional sample add to the multi-layered methodology and Mikko Lankinen's inventive guitar tones keep the tunes, most of which stay well under four minutes, consistently engaging. Deep Purple-ish harder-edged rock ("Mr. Melée") and even lounge ("Meneito Paraiso") are parts of the Laika equation, but the band is at their best when they mix and match styles in the same track, as on the shape-shifting "Disco Plank." While little here is revolutionary, the members of Laika show themselves to be one of the world's foremost surf-based practitioners who are smart and talented enough not to remake the same album. They nudge the boundaries of their approach just enough to refrain from drowning in a tsunami of nostalgia, but keep one foot firmly lodged in the sand kicked up by their predecessors.