To name your band Alaska while being based out of Henderson, Nevada is to suggest a self-aware polarity. The jump this agile, nimble quartet has performed to make the leap from 2013’s Everything is Fine to their upcoming LP Shrine (their second for Soft Speak Records) attempts to bridge as many sonic connections as possible. Guitars remain spongy and sprawl throughout “Hashish Christo,” which bubbles up shimmering post-hardcore influences like a proud volcano overflowing with early-2000s homage. The vocals are what matches the percussive flexibility on display, as Joel Kirschenbaum’s regulated, rising voice apexes into an abrasive, defeated yelp while Nick Strader’s drumming pummels this track into thunderous ground. Alaska’s latest merges two spheres: the wobbly world of third-wave emo with the tight poignacy of intertwining, steadily angling alternative rock. The crash this intersection suggests doesn’t luckily fluctuate the band’s temperature too much.
Regulation is key, and it seems that Alaska has discovered it.
“Hashish Christo” is taken from the band’s upcoming full-length, Shrine, which will be released via Soft Speak Records on October 2nd. The album has received an initial vinyl pressing of 300 randomly-colored LPs. You can pre-order your copy here, either alone or in a bundle featuring the second pressing of the band’s previous effort, Everything is Fine.
Tags: Alaska, Exclusive Spin, Soft Speak Records
