Image: Angela OwensThis article originally appeared on Noisey Australia.If the music of the Exploding Hearts, Royal Headache, or the bands associated with Mark Ryan put a smile on your dial then there’s a strong chance you are going to dig Laika’s Orbit. The New England band—who are spread across Boston, Providence, and Amherst—have an upcoming debut album No Matter What it Takes that combines 70s power pop, sticky hooks, and songs about relationships that have fallen sour.Sadly there are no songs about Soviet space dogs.Listen to the track “When Are You Gonna Come Back?” and read a chat we had with the band’s vocalist and lead Flying V guitarist Shane Dupuy.Noisey: There’s been some discussion in how to describe your sound. Power pop or garage.
Shane Dupuy: I couldn't care less what people call us. We are certainly very into both.What would a potential partner think of you after listening to the record and listening to the lyrics?
This is something I think about often. In the past I've altered lyrics to make them less specific so as not to hurt people's feelings. But I've stopped doing that. My lyrics are often about more than one person. Some of the songs that might seem about romantic relationships are just about friends or other people in my life. Ultimately, I'm trying to write good songs, not merely share my feelings. Sometimes this stuff has to be explained to people, but I think for the most part it's understood. Also, I think everyone likes the idea of songs being written about them, which helps! Besides, I usually wait until after a relationship is over before I write about it.I like the line in “Teenagers Need to Fall Down” that goes "you ain't got nothing until you've been on the ground". At the risk of sounding like Groundskeeper Willie do you think more kids need to taste dirt before they taste success?
That song is for my youngest sister Caroline and also for my close friend Cecelia Halle from the great Boston hardcore bands Leather Daddy, Firewalker, Wet Wired, and Rash Tongue. It seems rare that people succeed without failing many times first. And I actually think failure is a much more useful experience—not just in the motivational sense—but because it leads to outcomes we never could have expected. I don't think there's much for my generation to inherit besides failure anyway, at this point. So we might as well turn it into something catchy.Listening to your music I’m reminded of Mark Ryan from Marked Men, Radioactivity etc. You are obviously across him.
Are there people out there who haven't heard the Marked Men? We played with Radioactivity a few months ago and our bassist Kenzie somehow forgot her bass at our practice space so we spent a solid twenty minutes running around like chickens without our heads cut off trying to find it. It all made for a very stressful beginning to the set and I don't think we played very well. But after, I bought a record from Radioactivity and Mark said, "Nice set." I didn't want to play any shows again for a while after that.
Jan 4 - Seattle
Jan 5 - Vancouver
Jan 6 - Olympia
Jan 7 - Portland
Jan 8 - Oakland
Jan 9 - San Francisco
Jan 10 - LA
Jan 11 - San Jose
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Shane Dupuy: I couldn't care less what people call us. We are certainly very into both.What would a potential partner think of you after listening to the record and listening to the lyrics?
This is something I think about often. In the past I've altered lyrics to make them less specific so as not to hurt people's feelings. But I've stopped doing that. My lyrics are often about more than one person. Some of the songs that might seem about romantic relationships are just about friends or other people in my life. Ultimately, I'm trying to write good songs, not merely share my feelings. Sometimes this stuff has to be explained to people, but I think for the most part it's understood. Also, I think everyone likes the idea of songs being written about them, which helps! Besides, I usually wait until after a relationship is over before I write about it.I like the line in “Teenagers Need to Fall Down” that goes "you ain't got nothing until you've been on the ground". At the risk of sounding like Groundskeeper Willie do you think more kids need to taste dirt before they taste success?
That song is for my youngest sister Caroline and also for my close friend Cecelia Halle from the great Boston hardcore bands Leather Daddy, Firewalker, Wet Wired, and Rash Tongue. It seems rare that people succeed without failing many times first. And I actually think failure is a much more useful experience—not just in the motivational sense—but because it leads to outcomes we never could have expected. I don't think there's much for my generation to inherit besides failure anyway, at this point. So we might as well turn it into something catchy.Listening to your music I’m reminded of Mark Ryan from Marked Men, Radioactivity etc. You are obviously across him.
Are there people out there who haven't heard the Marked Men? We played with Radioactivity a few months ago and our bassist Kenzie somehow forgot her bass at our practice space so we spent a solid twenty minutes running around like chickens without our heads cut off trying to find it. It all made for a very stressful beginning to the set and I don't think we played very well. But after, I bought a record from Radioactivity and Mark said, "Nice set." I didn't want to play any shows again for a while after that.
Pre-order 'No Matter What it Takes' now from Total Negativity Records.Catch the band on the West Coast early next year:
Jan 4 - Seattle
Jan 5 - Vancouver
Jan 6 - Olympia
Jan 7 - Portland
Jan 8 - Oakland
Jan 9 - San Francisco
Jan 10 - LA
Jan 11 - San Jose