ALASKALASKA - “Still Life” album review
The London-based electronic band, ALASKALASKA, debuted its sophomore album, “Still Life.”
Known as an emerging experimental band that fuses different genres and atmospheres, “Still Life” has both a crisp production and innovative tracks — similar to its first album.
The group opens the album with “Growing Up Pains (Unni’s Song),” an introductory song that creates the cinematic and space-like atmosphere the band is known for.
With the use of synthesizers and delicate vocals, this song is both captivating and light — ideal for a first track.
Followed by a personal favorite, “TV Dinners” is one of those tracks where the vocal performance leads the way.
Lead singer Lucina John-Duarte manages to use her voice as another instrument, covering bubbly melodies with her sweet tone.
The song breaks down after two minutes, with sharp synthesizers followed by the chorus.
After such a triumph in their second track, “Person A” fails to live up to it.
However, it offers a different sound that automatically creates a different ambiance — one more similar to Maggie Rogers’ and Bjork’s.
With absurd and intriguing lyrics like, “Nursery rhymes and Venn diagrams and all of the things,” ALASKALASKA manages to combine the weirdness of their sound with their lyrics, something that sets them apart from other emerging Electronica bands.
The British experimental group manages to play with images and sounds throughout the album, an improvement from its debut album and former singles.
The self-titled “Still Life” is a song the Electronica group crafted with attention to every detail.
From the strong and addictive bass to the seductive spoken lyrics, this song is both hypnotizing and danceable. The change from singing to a more spoken song makes this song a necessary track to keep this album engaging.
The electronic sounds, repetitive lyrics and synth make this song sound robotic and almost futuristic.
Another strong moment for the British group is with the song “Pressure,” where they interrupt the atmosphere they built by including a breakdown with silky jazz and romantic sounds.
Despite not having strong lyrics to match its innovative sounds, ALASKAALASKA continues to follow the pattern of repetitive lyrics over and over that match its aesthetic.
However, “Still Life” begins to lose its initial strength in the second half, especially with “Rise And Shine,” a song with a forgettable melody and repetitive pattern that was not named after Kylie Jenner’s hit.
Despite having its signature synths and strong bass, this song could've been scrapped or an extension of any other song in this album.
The album continues to lose its initial creativity with forgettable songs, such as “Glass” and “Flowers,” filler tracks that have no innovative sounds, aesthetics or lyrics.
Finally, ALASKALASKA finishes their album with an emotional and raw song, “Long Lasting Pleasure,” a track that has the most depth to it out of any track in this album.
With lyrics about a small moment in life that brings utter happiness, the Electronica band brings nostalgia thanks to its delicate piano and signature synths.
“Still Life” was an overall strong album and a move in the right direction for ALASKALASKA. They managed to create an atmosphere with their captivating and futuristic sound.
Despite at some moments having songs that were both bland and forgettable, as an emerging band, they are starting to make a name for themselves in the competitive field that is Electronica groups, next to acts like Boards of Canada and even Aphex Twins.
Rating: 6/10
Reviewer’s Favorite Song: “TV Dinners, Long Lasting Pleasures”
Reviewer’s Least Favorite Song: “Glass, Flowers”
Fernanda Lopez is a second year majoring in telecommunications. To contact her, email lfl5339@psu.edu.
