Dakota - here’s the 101 on how to disappear
Amsterdam’s alt-pop band Dakota just dropped their debut album, entitled here’s the 101 on how to disappear.
Dakota
The album, a bit melancholic but always graceful and bedizened with sunlit moments, is about ogling the bottomless pit of your life and having the audacity to pose pertinent questions about the path you’re on.
Made up of Lisa Brammer, Lana Kooper, Jasmine van der Waals, and Annemarie van den Born, Dakota fuses pale So-Cal walls of sound with tough garage rock elements and wistful aromas of dream pop. Succinct, ingenious, at times acerbic lyrics provide the music with an intimate informality both captivating and refreshing.
Praised by BBC Radio 1 and The Line Of Best Fit, the band has a reputation for marvelous live shows, and has performed at The Great Escape, Reeperbahn Festival, and Eurosonic.
here’s the 101 on how to disappear comprises a baker’s dozen tracks, beginning with “Four Leaf Clover,” a scintillating dream pop tune with compact, crisp drums and glistening liquescent metallic textures. Highlights on the album include “Sorry,” an alt-rock-flavored tune with smooth sheens of color and gorgeous sylph-like vocals rife with vulnerability and a kind of potent timorous reverence. I love the sonic glow of the chorus on this track, electric and jangly, emanating fractals of color.
I would be shocked and dismayed if this album wasn’t on many best albums of the year lists next December.
“101” opens on lightly thrumming guitars swelling with sparkles of light, as deliciously evocative vocals undulate overhead. Full of melancholic savors, this is a lusciously beautiful tune, lingering and poignant with emotion. “Notice” exudes a strident tattered energy, but then takes on horizontal layers of shimmering guitars atop a syncopated beat.
“Dreams” delivers So-Cal soft rock flavors with vague hints of country-laced filaments. Yummy, gossamer vocal harmonies give the tune an upbeat surface. This is one of my favorite tracks on the album because of its propelling momentum and lush vocals.
Another favorite is “Sand,” with its elegant, graceful vocals and glistening jangly guitar hues backed by a relentlessly plucking mid-range chord. The final track, “Icon,” features sparkling guitars, a hefty bass line, and plush streaming vocals of grand beauty.
here’s the 101 on how to disappear surpasses expectations, delivering complex colors and cashmere tones of exquisite charm. I would be shocked and dismayed if this album wasn’t on many best albums of the year lists next December.
