The Breakdown
ALASKAN TAPES has created a short but blissful sequel to his previously album Views From 16 Stories.
It’s Alaskan Tapes, also known as Brady Kendall, second album of 2021: For Us Alone. The nine tracks are a tranquil journey through an array of peaceful melodies that will leave you feeling enchanted by the beauty of it.
Ahead of what seems to be towards the end of the global pandemic, there is a quiet moment to be had, a moment of reflection on ourselves, our losses, our gains, our growth and our hopes for the future. For Us Alone supplies the perfect soundtrack for these moments.
True to Alaskan Tapes signature style, the album is made up of instrumentals with no vocals. Aside from the strings, produced by Berlin-based Jonathan Dreyfuss, all the tracks were written and recorded from his home in North Toronto in Canada, this further testament to the talent Kendall possesses as both an artist and a producer. With most tracks averaging at around just over four minutes long, For us alone is not an elongated and taxing listen. The tracks flow effortlessly from one to another, making for a serene listen.
The tracks themselves appear to exhibit a correlation in the titles as the words have similar connotations: “Floating”, “Calm”, “Sky”; however the musician made it clear that there was no story to be found nor is that always necessary.
“On For Us Alone there isn’t as much of a story as there is a simple concept: I wanted to continue the sound I was going for on and make the songs I was trying to finish by the end of that process,” he says, adding: “Of course, some songs have their own personal story, but it’s also not uncommon for a track to be written just because it sounds nice. There’s more structure to these songs, which still segue nicely from the end of the last album.”
Although For Us Alone is somewhat of a continuation on from Views From Sixteen Stories, there are notable differences. For Us Alone was created with a purposeful structure as the songs were written in groups of three, with at least one track having percussion. This is an ode to making of Alaskan Tapes as he was a drummer before he expanded his musicianship.
The aura of both albums indicates a sense of emotional growth. On Views From Sixteen Stories, the titles and sound paired with the black and white artwork make for an aura full of despair. This is a contrast to For Us Alone, which possesses a calm-after-the-storm, healed aura. Track such as “And Then”, “Calm” and “Of Falling” are highlights of the album; the epitome of the beauty. The album as a whole has wonderfully delicate melodies with samples that sound as though they were handpicked from a peaceful Sunday with a gentle rain shower.
Canadian-born Brady Kendall is a one-man-band who maintains a main focus on creating a new collection of music whilst maintaining his musical identity of wordless instrumental pieces, using different techniques and unfinished pieces to create a new chapter in his story as an artist.
For Us Alone is a collection of tracks that make for a full 39 minutes of nothing but tranquil serenity. Whether you are having a moment of self-reflection, distraction or desperation, this album provides an enchanting soundtrack for those moments.
Alaskan Tapes For Us Alone is available now digitally, on CD and on vinyl over at Bandcamp.
No Comment