Laika

When Laika dropped its Antenna EP and debut full-length, Silver Apples of the Moon (in 1994 and 1995, respectively), the group -- led by singer and bassist Margaret Fiedler and production guru Guy Fixsen -- was the most exciting cog in the nascent postrock machine. A mercurial melange of off-center tribal funk, marimba-fueled exotica, postmodern dub, and spacey jazz, Laika geared its adventurous sound for pleasures both cerebral and of the flesh. Alas, Laika scaled back its ambitions on 1997's Sounds of the Satellites and 2000's Good Looking Blues to become sensuous, downhearted trip-hoppers infatuated with Miles Davis. Whereverbasically treads the water that floated their previous two discs, but it's stripped down to sinuous, dubby bass and twinkling marimba fills. But despite Wherever's abundant charms, there's no mistaking the stagnation here. Still, Laika's stagnation tops most bands' innovation.