"Born In Alaska"
"Born In Alaska"
OK, what do we reckon? "Pop Atmosphérique - Normandie" is the description. Using my limited knowledge of the French language (and the fact that the words are very close to English) I think we could be looking at dreampop from Normandy. A quick spin of this new EP by Born In Alaska, a five-piece band who don't appear to have any actual connection to the US's largest state, would reveal this to be the case. 'Show Me The Great Wild Horses' is a dramatic title for something which fits your general descriptions of ethereal and woozy, but it's not half a bad song. This lot do diversity too. The excellent 'Seven Hundred Miles' is closer to post-punk in its beat and bassline, although it touches upon shoegaze too. It would make a top single.
Not for the first time in music, the first dog in space is mentioned. 'Laika' was of course the name of a band and famously an Arcade Fire song, but here it's a slow and ambient number, one that definitely fits "pop Atmosphérique", but it's nicely done and is a proper song as opposed to a soundscape and has a grand post-rock ending. There's a post-rock feel to 'San Diego' too, but more immediate and closer to convention. It's a lively track and an EP highlight. They quite rightly finish with a song that contains a slow build (it's exactly how a collection of songs like this should end) and take us on a journey to the clouds and back with 'Home'. Music is a universal language, so whatever you wish to call this, it's very good wherever you're from.
