ALASKALASKA - Bitter Winter/Familiar Ways

London six-piece ALASKALASKA have been making more than a few waves across the capital in the past six months, and this pair of debut singles more than justify the hype. ‘Bitter Winter’ is the first track lifted from the band’s debut EP, expected this summer on House Anxiety/Marathon Artists, and is a smooth and silky introduction. Sounding like Warpaint if they fully embraced disco, the track’s moulding of live and synthetic drums creates something that spans genres and evokes the very opposite feelings to its title - ALASKALASKA make music for hazy summer afternoons in parks. ”I’ve got a voice made of lithium / I’ll blow the house down if you don’t let me in”, vocalist Lucinda sings, and her lyrics are equally inviting and menacing. ‘Familiar Ways’ is a more than worthy counterpart, too - a track that sits on the precipice between introspective art-pop and something that could soundtrack parties. Which way ALASKALASKA go from here is wide open, but this intriguing, brilliantly promising introduction shows the newcomers to be able to slide between genres, situations and emotions, and presents a band that are most definitely going places.