What do you get if you cross the Balkan folk of Beirut and Hawk and a Hacksaw with the 80s disco reverie of the Junior Boys? Well, Alaska in Winter managed to find out when they rectruited a certain Zach Condon and Heather Trost from Beirut to play on his record, which does exactly what it claims to - soundtracks a dance party in the Balkans. Sort of anyway, this is similarly hook-laden and just as strangley alluring as Beirut's 'Gulag Orkester' but then those 80s drum machine beats and wobbly basslines cut in and you almost forget what it is you're listening to. I've got to say it's a brave move from Brandon Bethancourt (for he is Alaska in Winter) and not the most obvious one to say the very least, these tracks occasionally sound like they've been beamed from another world - the piano/violin and crunk combination of 'Balkan Lowrider Anthem' for instance. it sounds like it's going to be a comedy record I know, but trust me it really is anything but. If you really need proof then flip straight to the album's final track (which features Mr. Condon on vocals) 'Close your Eyes - We Are Blind' which is as gorgeous a piece of guitar-less indie pop as you're likely to hear this year. Beirut fans looking for more to fuel their hunger should look this way...

how is the new album kids?