Naked Society soundtrack our societal anxiety with their debut studio album, Alienation.
By Graeme Smith
New to our blog, Naked Society are a Seattle, USA-based art rock trio who were formed in 2021 by friends Ilya Krisa, Peter Potnin and Tim Funk. They’ve just released their debut studio album, Alienation, which, in their own words, holds “a mirror to a world teetering on the edge” and “pushes back against isolation, personal dissonance, and societal strain.” Ultimately, it tells us that music is here to help us find our way over nine varied tracks.
After an atmospheric instrumental opening track Statis, Anxiety gives us our first proper taste of the Naked Society sound. It’s a suitably edgy track that rails against injustice (and feels oddly prescient given the events of yesterday.) The vocals smoulder in the verse before things become fiery and defiant in the chorus.
There are four focus tracks on the album – Burning Prairie, Total Recall (featuring PROFitSEA), Halide and Digital Dust. The former provides an early album highlight thanks to its slow-burning composition and powerful chorus while the other three form the album’s final run, giving us poetic rap rock, layered shoegaze and paranoid alternative rock respectively.
Yet, it’s important to say that although these three tracks are the standouts, the album is designed to be enjoyed as a whole. S.A.Y. sits between Anxiety and Burning Prairie, giving us a cantering, edgy moment of post-rock. Soon Enough and Crumbling take their place at the heart of the album, providing gritty atmosphere and vibrant hard rock.
If you’re looking for a soundtrack for your societal angst, then Alienation is it. Naked Society perfectly captures the mood of the moment in an album that will give you a lot of catharsis. I highly recommend it.
Alienation is out now and you can give it a listen below.