Alaska

Northern Picture Library's debut is largely impulsive, frayed, and capable of creating an affecting, almost inactive atmosphere. Sandwiched in between the on-stage self-destruction of the Field Mice and the creation of Trembling Blue Stars, Alaska underplayed indie traditionalism as it took an unexpected, interesting tenure into dream-based ambient pop. Annemari Davies and Robert Wratten's compositions were frequently free of guitars, lyrics, or drums. By avoiding an emphasis on found sound, however, songs like "Glitter Spheres" and "Skylight" were also connective and built from melody, while "Dreams and Stars and Sleep" seemed to anticipate the predatory, childlike dub gospel of Saint Etienne's Sound of Water and Dusted's When We Were Young. Northern Picture Library would break up soon after its release, but Alaska's better moments, its quieter moments, were some of the more memorable, most overlooked yields of all of the Field Mice's offshoots.