ver wonder what got into Radiohead to force them to create the monsters that were Kid A and Amnesiac? Well, surprisingly, it was Laika. Okay, they aren’t solely responsible, considering Thom Yorke admitted to purchasing the entire Warp Records catalogue, but the duo of Guy Fixsen and Margaret Fiedler were a key inspiration.

Laika’s history is quite a funny one. After Fiedler and bassist John Frenett left Moonshake in 1993, they teamed up with Fixsen, who was then a respected producer and engineer (Moonshake, The Breeders, My Bloody Valentine). Enlisting drummer Lou Ciccotelli, Laika debuted in 1993 with the Antenna EP and the next year with their wonderfully diverse album, Silver Apples On The Moon. The band went on to tour with 1995’s Lollapalooza, Stereolab, Tricky, and eventually Radiohead’s OK Computer tour, after their second album, Sounds of the Satellites was released.

Using outer space constantly as a source of inspiration (their name is derived from one of the first dogs to travel in space), the group used funky, jazzy and experimental sounds to create a musical world of their own. Everything from tribal sounds, acid jazz, trip hop, and drone rock can be heard throughout the three albums. Lost In Space may seem like a strange compilation for an act who haven’t split and who have only recorded three albums, but it’s a smartly composed introduction to an undervalued and deserved band.

Containing two discs of music, Lost In Space surprisingly isn’t a singles collection. Instead, the purpose of the retrospective is to represent Laika’s catalogue the way the band felt necessary. Each track’s inclusion is justified within the liner notes (the excitement behind their biggest radio hit “Uneasy” is written rather cutely). So, in the place of their first single, “Marimba Song”, a remix of it is featured. Peel Sessions of key tracks like “Badtimes” and “Go Fish” are substituted as well, clearly because Laika felt they were worth hearing rather than having the audience buy the same song over again.

Listening to Lost In Space, it’s hard to imagine how these songs and the albums were not part of something more than critical praise. The commercial appeal may not be blindingly noticeable in the music, but the innovative sounds are, leaving me to guess that if they don’t get their just rewards in this modern age, they will be seen as pioneers in the years to come.