The lengthy tale of Alberta Cross took another twist earlier this year.
Snapped up by Dine Alone Records, the project - helmed by Petter Ericson Stakee - went back into the studio to work on fresh material.
Hooking up with a number of friends, Alberta Cross secluded themselves away in church-cum-studio Dreamland. Viewing Southern mythology in British terms, the material is packed with the ghosts of Americana but delivered in a fresh, inspirational way.
Out on October 16th, the band are currently previewing material from the record on a massive Stateside jaunt alongside Heartless Bastards.
Clash is able to present an up-front stream of the new Alberta Cross full length, alongside a track by track guide penned by Stakee himself. Dive in below.
'You'll Be Fine'
This song was supposed to be much longer. I wanted to record it in two parts. The first part- that's on the record- which was very acoustic and then a second part that would be more electric with a full band. We never finished the louder electric second part.
'Ghost Of Santa Fe'
One of the first songs I wrote for this record. I'm actually out in the Joshua Tree desert in California recording a spaced out, sci-fi video for it as I write this.
'Western State'
I kinda wrote the song about the instability of life. About working in the grind. Maybe the struggle of trying to get by in society itself. Even though I can feel that pretty much on a daily basis, I actually wrote the song about a character working a 9-7 cubicle job or the average working soul. And even though that might sound like a safer route, it might not be.
'Easy Street'
One of my favourites on this record. Lyrically it's four stories tied together in one song. 'Isolation' Another early one. This tune sounded much more electronic on the early demos. We used a lot of old 70s synthesizers on it.
'Water Mountain'
The only song we recorded live in New York City. My good buddy Alec Higgins played some beautiful piano on it. And lyrically I feel like it's a continuation of Ghost of Santa Fe.
'Heavy Words'
One of the more angry grittier, numbers lyrically and musically.
'Beneath My Love'
I like the dynamic transformations in this song. We wanted the cello to bring in a trippier, Nick Drake vibe to the song.
'Get Up High'
One of the first ones I wrote for this record. It was a fun one to record up in the church in Woodstock. A lot of this record was recorded live which you can really hear and feel in this number.
'Shadow Of Mine'
This one was very inspired by my dog GH. He was my best buddy and around to inspire all the writing and a lot of the recording of this record. He passed away last year so this whole record is dedicated to him. Legend.
'Smoky Lake'
I worked with a lot of guitar tunings on this record. This one tuning inspired a lot of new tunes for Alberta Cross and my other project Dicey Hollow.
'It's You That's Changing'
This song was recorded completely live up in a church they turned into a music studio called Dreamland. Probably my favourite tune I've ever written.
- - -
'Alberta Cross' will be released on October 16th.