Dalton Alexander - Almost Home If I’m Still Alive

A Closer Listen

Two years ago, multi-faceted Yukon artist Dalton Alexander self-released a lovely, home-spun debut called Almost Home If I Disappear.  Unfortunately, it was buried in the Christmas rush.  A year later, he followed this release with I Wonder How Many Are Still Alive, in the kinder musical month of November.  This year, LAAPS Records’ Mathias fell in love with the artist’s output and is now presenting it to a larger audience.  Almost Home If I’m Still Alive contains the entire first album, rounded out by three tracks from the second, with slightly revised sequencing.  Of the tracks not included, “Last Night of Summer” is the most endearing, although it would not have sounded quite right on a bright green LP dedicated to spring.  The brilliance of LAAPS is not only to discover this series of tracks, but to find its proper season.

The music is a blend of field recordings, guitar and synth, captured and recorded over the past few years.  The titles alone evoke childhood pleasures, the eye and ear drawn first to “Scholastic Book Fair,” which was an event where kids could wander around a room filled with books before placing their hopeful orders.  Children are all over this album, from the playful banter of “Guess What?” to the bicycle bell on “Meet Behind Mr. Woolridge’s House.”  The album is a journey, as evidenced by the opening footsteps on “President of Student Council,” showcasing a voice akin to that of Charlie Brown’s teacher.  Over it all, Alexander plays placidly, contributing a bucolic backdrop, interrupted only by the “Why?”s and dissonance of “We Used to Live Here.”  In the lead single, “Spring Doesn’t Remember Me,” rain falls gently for a bit while the artist listens, eventually playing a peaceful ode before stopping to listen again.  The decision to allow the field recordings space to themselves is the album’s wisest decision, allowing the mood to be set in each piece: birdsong in one track, a passing plane in the next.

The sequencing choices are also of great interest.  The second album’s opener, “Shortcut Through Harmon Park,” is not included here because it would have been odd to have both opening tracks start with footsteps.  The first album’s closer, “See the Happy Days,” cuts off rather abruptly and so is moved toward the center of the album; the second album’s closer, “Modry (Reprise)” is no longer a reprise since the initial track is not included; this too moves toward the center.  Smartly, the only song with lyrics, “Réuni De Toutes Parts,” becomes the new closer.

One of the most telling quotes comes from what may be an answering machine: “Have lots of fun before time runs out!”  This sentiment is more than a bit foreboding, but it also fits the theme.  The artist is older now, looking back on childhood through the lens of adulthood.  How many hours or days or years are squandered as people wade through seas of possibilities?  Alexander is having fun now, albeit a different kind of fun, captured in field recordings and sonic paintings.  One kid accuses another of “not wanting to do anything else” and asks, “Where do you want to go?”  The options for kids seem endless, but are actually few, while the options for adults seem few, but are actually endless.  If we are to glean a message from this album, it’s to get out there and discover what wonders await.  (Richard Allen)