Melanie MacLaren - “Laika”
Photo by blaire beamer
From Nashville, Tennessee, Melanie MacLaren is back with a new offering of introspective folk music: “Laika.”
Once we learned that the track was inspired by the dog who was placed aboard Sputnik 2 and then sent into orbit, the dreamy vibes of shimmering electric guitar were an obvious choice. These notes immediately begin to dance across the soundscape at the press of the play button, resulting in a righteous, otherworldly sonic foundation.
When it comes to a raw and soul-stirring vocal performance, MacLaren will never let you down. She wrote “Laika“ at a time in her life when she was going through some great turmoil and has left the melancholy firmly intact in both the lyrics themselves and the manner in which they are delivered. Other than some reverb, her voice remains unscathed by production and it is nothing short of magnificent.
A rich and vibrant slide guitar falls into place as the song comes to a close, but, other than an ethereal pad in the distance, “Laika” remains quite sparse in its arrangement. This can echo the loneliness of solo space travel, but also the way that we might choose to distance ourselves from the inhumanity of man. Either way, we have a feeling that you’re really going to enjoy this one.
-HD