The Super Saturated Sugar Strings

THERE’S WARMTH TO THE MUSIC OF ALASKA INDIE FOLK BAND THE SUPER SATURATED SUGAR STRINGS. It’s the warmth of friendship, good cheer, and the kind of community needed to make it through the bitter isolation and hard winters in the 49th state. Based in Anchorage, the Sugar Strings are a beloved institution there, packing sweaty bodies together in small halls under neon light to dance into the night. On their new album, ALL THEIR MANY MILES, they’ve managed to translate not only the high energy stomp and swing of their live shows to the studio, but also to capture some of the magic that brings together Anchorage’s music community. A windswept town on the edge of the Alaska ocean, Anchorage has a remarkably robust music scene, one characterized by unconditional support among bands and wildly passionate audiences. It’s a model for other scenes and an idea that’s catching, and The Super Saturated Sugar Strings aim to bring that kind of human connection to the rest of the states, as they begin touring nationally. On stage, you see this kind of egalitarian, open communication directly among the six band members as they freely swap instruments, sometimes more than once in the same song. The music they create seems cinematic at times, drenched in strings and horns and bombastic ideas. This is Alaska, where nobody does anything small, so this roots band’s take on modern Americana is full of dense, intricate, virtuosic instrumental arrangements and shout-to-the-rafter vocals.<br>