Alaska in Winter - Dance Party in the Balkans
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Artist:
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Track:Your Red Dress (Wedding Song at the Cemetery)
Mogstars: The Perfect 10
According to the website, _Alaska in Winter_ started out when art student Brendan Bethancourt spent two months writing songs in a log-cabin in America’s frozen north. Returning to New Mexico and adding collaborations from _Beirut's_ Zach Condon and a host of indie-pop helpers, the result was debut LP _Dance Party in the Balkans_ and it is hardly surprising this record has such a worldly feel.From the outset Brandon and Co. create haunting songs that hang heavy in the air and soundscapes that capture the true beauty of the windswept wilderness where they were created. Gentle piano and soaring brass sections overlap with electronic beats to create a feel of a vast expanse, while the gentle tone instills a thick sense of sorrow in every song. These effects are compounded by the vocals, which sound faint and distant like a voice just beyond the horizon, or the ghostly whistle of the wind. Obscured glances of what is going on, vocals that you can’t quite hear and instruments that flit to and fro, not one dominating the song, draw you in like curiosity urges on the wandering traveller. Even the title track _Dance Party in the Balkans_ is more of a subdued swaying than a riotous rumba. Conjuring up a dozen images in your mind this record effortlessly paints a picture that could easily be from the Balkans or Alaska, just as much a deserted village as desolate tundra.Even the song names scream (or should that be whisper) isolation and sorrow, with titles like _The Beautiful Burial Flowers We Will Never See_ hinting at both the melancholy and the poetry that dominates this album from start to finish, and while _Lovely Lovely Love_ may conjure up a burst of sunshine it is short lived as a robotic “You were always on my mind” drifts almost inaudibly across the speakers.Bridging the divide between classical music and the anthemic indie-pop of _Arcade Fire_, _Dance Party…_ is at the same time euphoric and heartbreaking. The soaring melodies boast an understated beauty that charms and beguiles, while the ambiance of the record cannot fail to entrance and dishearten. More like a work of art than an LP (yet why should they be so different?) _Alaska in Winter_ have created a record mystifies the listener with it’s scope, like a great painting, every listen reveals another detail to capture the imagination, building up a complex web of individual features combined into an astounding whole. This may not be one for the pure pleasure seekers out there, but for those who appreciate music with an artistic bent and an organic, responsive feel, then this album is a must.
According to the website, _Alaska in Winter_ started out when art student Brendan Bethancourt spent two months writing songs in a log-cabin in America’s frozen north. Returning to New Mexico and adding collaborations from _Beirut's_ Zach Condon and a host of indie-pop helpers, the result was debut LP _Dance Party in the Balkans_ and it is hardly surprising this record has such a worldly feel.From the outset Brandon and Co. create haunting songs that hang heavy in the air and soundscapes that capture the true beauty of the windswept wilderness where they were created. Gentle piano and soaring brass sections overlap with electronic beats to create a feel of a vast expanse, while the gentle tone instills a thick sense of sorrow in every song. These effects are compounded by the vocals, which sound faint and distant like a voice just beyond the horizon, or the ghostly whistle of the wind. Obscured glances of what is going on, vocals that you can’t quite hear and instruments that flit to and fro, not one dominating the song, draw you in like curiosity urges on the wandering traveller. Even the title track _Dance Party in the Balkans_ is more of a subdued swaying than a riotous rumba. Conjuring up a dozen images in your mind this record effortlessly paints a picture that could easily be from the Balkans or Alaska, just as much a deserted village as desolate tundra.Even the song names scream (or should that be whisper) isolation and sorrow, with titles like _The Beautiful Burial Flowers We Will Never See_ hinting at both the melancholy and the poetry that dominates this album from start to finish, and while _Lovely Lovely Love_ may conjure up a burst of sunshine it is short lived as a robotic “You were always on my mind” drifts almost inaudibly across the speakers.Bridging the divide between classical music and the anthemic indie-pop of _Arcade Fire_, _Dance Party…_ is at the same time euphoric and heartbreaking. The soaring melodies boast an understated beauty that charms and beguiles, while the ambiance of the record cannot fail to entrance and dishearten. More like a work of art than an LP (yet why should they be so different?) _Alaska in Winter_ have created a record mystifies the listener with it’s scope, like a great painting, every listen reveals another detail to capture the imagination, building up a complex web of individual features combined into an astounding whole. This may not be one for the pure pleasure seekers out there, but for those who appreciate music with an artistic bent and an organic, responsive feel, then this album is a must.
Comments (9)
About the band's name, there seems to be new penchant for toponymic appellations in indie-land. To name a few: We're From Barcelona, Architecture In Helsinki, Beirut etc.