Alaska In Winter
(Milan)
Alaska in Winter is the sole creation of multi-instrumentalist Brandon Bethancourt; his sound brings to mind Beirut meeting a synthesizer. This, AIW's sophomore album, is a slow romp through an electrofield of synths and vocoders, its mellow, electronic sounds conjuring visions of a cinematic, futuristic, slow speed car chase, or even Chariots of Fire's "jogging on the beach scene" with electronics. Is this a positive or negative factor? Let us evaluate the tunes.
The first and last tracks, "We Are Blind and Riding the Merry-Go-Round" and "Close Your Eyes Remix," sound quite similar. The latter incorporates guest vocals from Beirut's singer, Zach Condon, thus providing a counterpoint to the laid-back keyboards that comprise "We Are Blind." Unfortunately this doesn't obscure the fact that the same tempo is used for both songs, and the curse of the "soundalikes" does not end here. Holiday includes songs "Highlander Pt. 1" and "Pt. 2" as well as "Streetgang Pt. 1," "Pt. 2" and "Pt. 3" - essentially five tunes that are a sonic continuation. Therefore, out of this eleven track album, with one and eleven already sounding like one song split in two, we are left with four tunes to examine on their own merits.
Those remaining tracks: "Berlin," "Speed Boat to Heaven," "Knorrpromenade" and "Keep Your Boots Clean and Everything You Step on is Dirt." They are indeed unique. Apart from the characteristic keyboards, drum loops and vocoder usage, "Knorrpromenade" and "Boots" include a plucky banjo which adds a nice touch. "Berlin" and "Speed Boat" both fall in line with the majority of the album yet are, thankfully, more upbeat.
So yes, Bethancourt's goal of incorporating different genres of music into electronica, genres one wouldn't initially imagine would work with dance beats, was met. In a world of un-originality he has created a sound all his own and this should be applauded. However, the album's downfall, as noted above, is that too many tracks follow too-similar paths along the way towards that goal.
Standout Tracks: "Berlin," "Knorrpromenade" APRIL S. ENGRAM
