Hailing from the sun-washed deserts of Phoenix, Arizona, Strelitzia emerges from a nearly decade-long slumber with Winter, a fuzzy blend of emo and math rock that carves its own place into the echelons of what I call ‘Southwestern Emo’. And, if I may interject the self in here briefly, there are moments in time when an album comes and hits your ears in such a way, that you realize you’ve felt the winds changed. I speak no hyperbole to say that this album earns that accolade. It may not get its flowers duly from those with less experience and years of listening under their belt, but mark this: people will speak about this album in the 2040’s the way we herald Amercian Football’s LP 1 now.
Written over six years and recorded in two weeks at Sonic Ranch, Winter is the patchwork of relationships both internal and external for Strelitzia. Comprised of Skylar Bankson, Jacob Howard, Hunter Hankinson, and Kyle Porter, the quartet has remained steadfast in their friendship and musical journey since their inception in late 2015. The slow burn of their craftsmanship, friendship, and Skylar’s lyricism brushes their strokes atmospherically as the opening track, “Decigic” lets the album take its first step on a soft hum. Delicate touches of the piano cascade in and out as Bankson sings “I’ll paint you an ocean / watch you as the tide sweeps you off your feet,” letting the softer aspects of his register shine. Then halfway through, all at once, the music pulls, Bankson’s voice rears into a howl as the guitars crunch their way over Porter’s beat-perfect drumming.
Winter is not just an album; it’s a narrative journey through the complexities of love, friendship, and personal struggles, of times both nostalgic and strange. The sonic journey it rides is a complicated one as well, with hints of instrumental juggernauts like Explosions in the Sky and This Will Destroy You, to nods of companionship to bands like Slow Joy and Into It. Over It. Winter, the season, in Arizona feels as estranged and familiar as the music Strelitzia is honing in on. Unlike the expected droll of Chicago, Arizona winters can sometimes mean sunbathing at noon and needing a parka by dinner.
The band’s meticulous songwriting process, honed over years of collaboration, captures these oscillations to the extremes in both the musical and lyrical composition of Winter’s eight sprawling tracks. The album’s thematic depths contain pictures of love, betrayal, self-reflection, and resilience with unabashed vulnerability. It is a sweeping view of aging and growing, both as a band and as a person. In “Say It,” a surprising stomp-clap track (trust me, it works. TRUST ME!) Bankson asks “What did I say? / did I say it wrong?” an evergreen question as we navigate the difficulties of human connection when we live bound to the confines of our own thoughts and experiences.
As the album progresses, Strelitzia’s signature blend of emo and math rock takes us further into the complex and complicated nature of existence. “Sara,” an almost 11-minute behemoth of a track, plants its foot down as a showcase for how Strelitzia’s song-crafting can create a track so long, yet so compelling at every turn of the chord. Three-quarters into the track, the AZ quarter brings you into a build-up so chest-pounding, the distorted wall of sound and screams they deliver in the payoff might just damn stop your heart.
One of the album’s standout tracks and first single to announce their rise back into the scene, “Sben,” offers a contemplation of guilt and deep longing. The raw emotion in Bankson’s vocals is palpable, as he grapples with their own hypocrisy and jealousy of another holding their beloved. It’s a cathartic yet heart-wrenching admission that encapsulates the album’s overarching theme of gutting honesty, no matter how difficult the truth may be to face.
Throughout Winter, Strelitzia’s musical versatility is on full display, from the stripped-back intimacy of “Say It” to the frenetic energy of title track “Winter.” Each track weaves together creating a patchwork experience inviting the audience to immerse themselves fully in the band’s world over the years they’ve experienced together.
In addition to their musical prowess, Strelitzia’s attention to detail is evident in every aspect of the album, from the lush production to the evocative artwork. Recorded at the aforementioned Sonic Ranch with engineer Tony Brant, Winter boasts a richness and depth that pushes the album into the hall-of-fame territory that I’m calling now.
As the album draws to a close with the haunting “Epilogue,” Strelitzia opens the track with footsteps approaching the mic and the naked sounds of fingers readying themselves on guitar strings. It’s a poignant ending to a journey that has taken us through the depths of despair and the heights of redemption, a testament to the enduring power of music and companionship to heal and inspire. Lyrically, to me, it’s the heaviest on the album and evokes the exact chill of a winter wind that hits you when you’re not quite ready for the cold. I want to give you a snippet of these words, but the song urges me to selfishly hold them and not spoil the listen. Trust me, by the time you reach the end of this album, this song is waiting for one last set of knuckles for your sternum.
Winter is not an album (well okay, yes, it is), it’s a masterpiece. Strelitzia has crafted a body of work that transcends genre, that bridges our solitary journeys through our lives. It is not easy to be alive, nor is it easy to live with ourselves, the mistakes we make, and the way we fail others as they fail us. But is also beautiful to be alive, to experience any season, bad or good, to find people who will watch you grow over a decade and decide they want to make something lasting with you about those years. Maybe we will never know what it’s like to experience life through someone else’s lens, but Strelitzia’s Winter gets us really god damn close.
Winter will be available to stream everywhere on Friday, May 17th.
Find more of Strelitzia here.
The Diygest 
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