With this ongoing trend of one-man-bands, it's easy to expect what a live performance of theirs would be like, if that, they even play a show, their shows will probably be disappointing because they'll often use an iPod for percussion, stand extremely still due to the amount of instruments they have to play and how focused they need to be, or they'll have an entire band, completely defeating the purpose. Dillon Rego of the one-man-band Alaskas doesn't attempt any of those "techniques" live. He does what Julianna Barwick does and loops everything, except Rego isn't limited to just vocals; he uses guitar, drums, vocals, the whole shebang. The only difference is that in this case, it's more in the vein of Foot Village or early Abe Vigoda.
The opening track "Send Them Off" will give you a bit of a different idea upon first listen. It may seem a bit repetitive because the only lyrics are, well, "Send them off" but as the track moves on the vocal loops blend together, creating a tribalistic orchestra. Even that track can't compare to the ethereal swarm of melody to come. "Let The Statelines Exist" is where the incorporation of guitar and drums come in. Again, it begins having minimal instrumentation; just some mid-tempo beatboxing and singing on top, and about halfway through the song, guitar enters as the song builds and builds. Some songs are more ambience-oriented than others, like "Diving In" but nothing on Set Yourself Free can really be considered an interlude or filler. The album ends with "Unshackled," a pop song slowly fading into chaos.
I have to say that this album is also pretty epic even though it's length is only a short 25 minutes. Set Yourself Free is such a fitting title for the album too. It'll embrace the "animal" in your musical spectrum.
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