Cosyland

The irregular career of Laid Back, who after their initial burst of singles and albums settled into a pattern of releases that would sometimes surface years apart, took a curious if enjoyable turn with Cosyland, an EP focused on reworking songs from the original studio sessions that the duo did together. Perhaps it could be a matter of timing -- given the interest level shown in anything and everything around the dawn of the '80s that could be called space rock, post-disco, synth pop, or electro, what surprise if the Danes in question decided to play around a bit where they'd started? The result is fairly sonically seamless in terms of taking the original synth recordings and adding new rhythms and vocals to them, with the opening "Cocaine Cool" and its vocal call to arms -- "This is my roots/This is my blues" -- serving as a reminder that the banjo-and-beard set of 2010s indie rock doesn't have anywhere close to a lock on what's supposed to be authentic. An unspoken feeling throughout Cosyland, besides the twosome's own original approach, could be classic Yello, though that's almost a feeling of retrospective association more than anything else. "Get Laid Back" is another good slow stomp from the start, demi-soloing floating behind the main tech crunch and soothing backgrounds, all coming together as its own enjoyable treat.