The Alpines Head North 

• Mack Lambert
• The Alpines

Living in a post-apocalyptic world is a scary thought for most people—and that's probably why there's so much media based on the premise, to process those fears. It's easy to find books, movies and video games that follow characters on a journey of survival, but stories like that aren't as prevalent in music. Sure, there are probably songs out there that reference the end of the world, but how many dedicate an entire album to the idea?

SLC indie rock duo The Alpines, that's who.

Heading North is the debut brainchild from the duo, and they set out to write a post-apocalyptic concept album from the get-go. Inspired by a book with the same theme, one half of the duo, Bri McCall, brought the idea to the other half, Danny Patiño, who loved it. "I like the idea of everything's just gone to crap. What are we going to do? There's no food. There's no water. Of course, you have to go north," McCall explained.

Patiño and McCall met on Reddit of all places, but hit it off immediately with their ideas and visions of how they wanted their projects to turn out. "The beginnings of The Alpines was very organic, very grassroots," Patiño said. "When she came up with the idea of writing a post-apocalyptic epic I was like, 'Oh my gosh, you got it,'" he said. "We went to a coffee shop, but we just brought our notebooks and just started writing down themes and ideas and then transposed that to music and musically, thematically how it would work."

Their debut album was a long time coming, and now that it's out into the world, The Alpines are overjoyed to share it with listeners. The duo are inspired by a lot of different genres, including but not limited to Americana, psych, dance, folk and indie. Hearing that a group is influenced by such a wide range of sounds may lead you to think that their music doesn't have a solid direction, or might be an awkward mash-up of musical elements. That is absolutely not the case with The Alpines and Heading North. Listening through, you'll pick up elements from these genres that are unique, but not overpowering. Different, and used in ways that are uniquely The Alpines. It's hard to find another band that sounds exactly like them, and that's what's great about them.

Heading North opens with "Maybe," the first single the band released in February 2023. It's an entrancing start to the album, with beautifully incorporated electronic elements paired with McCall's touching vocals. It feels optimistic and adventurous, because at this point in the story, the world hasn't ended yet. It provides a sense of comfort and normalcy with lyrics "Good boy good girl / earning that American gold / Tell me is this what all the work is for or could there be more / A quiet dinner, quiet house / It's the life we dreamed about."

As the album continues with "Nobody Knows," you get more of those Americana vibes, with an upbeat rhythm and slide guitar in the background. This is the exact type of song you'd listen to while traveling, but the lyrics also add to the post-apocalyptic storyline with lines like, "The cars stopped rolling on the open road / the sound stopped playing on the radio / Nobody knows what's gonna happen from here."

Each song on the album is, of course, lovely on its own, but listening in its entirety to get the full feeling of the story is a very fulfilling experience. If you're a fan of these survival themes in media, this album is a must-listen. It's also a must-listen if you're not super into stories about the world ending, because it's just a great album.

While The Alpines are excited Heading North is finally out for everyone to hear, they're already miles ahead planning their next projects. Their next album will be centered on love, heartbreak, loss, interpersonal relationships—basically, a lot of different emotions and situations that we all can relate to as humans. It will still be a concept album in the sense that it follows specific themes, but won't have an actual storyline like Heading North.

The Alpines hope that listeners continue on their musical journey with them as they experiment with different sounds, and tell more stories on their albums. "We love you, and thank you for listening," they say.

If you're someone who can't get enough stories about the world ending, and how we humans face the end of the world, Heading North is right up your alley. It has feelings of fear, hope, loss and adventure. What more could you need from an album?