Photos & Story by Kristy Benjamin
Earlier this month we brought you a feature on Alaska Reid and Ben Spear of Alyeska and today we are debuting a song off of their forthcoming EP, Crush coming out at the end of this month.
“Sister Buckskin” weaves a dreamy tale with Alaska’s soothing voice, impressively natural flow of guitar riffs paired with Spear’s “Mark Guiliana-esque” drumming on this track. The end result brings forth a track that is reminiscent of all the best parts of old Sonic Youth jams. When asked just who Sister Buckskin is, Reid explains, “I was in an old bookstore, old general store in my hometown called Sax and Fryer. They have a lot of cool books on the history of the American West. I opened one up and there was a picture of a nun named Sister Buckskin. She proceeds to share links with me that show that the Sister Buckskin title wasn’t chosen solely on her having a pretty sweet name but because of much more. Reid knows how to dig in and do her research. Turns out Sister Buckskin prompted Congress to change U.S. policy toward poor landless Native Americans in the 50’s. Reid’s songwriting ability has a way to stick with you, haunting and insightful. We are counting down for more from this duo and you should be too.”
