Slingshot Dakota – Break

Once more insomnia has struck, as I sit watching the sun come up I decide to give Pennsylvania’s Slingshot Dakota a listen, and it turned out to be an inspired choice. They are a duo featuring Keyboards and Drums who make glorious songs that can’t be pigeonholed into any category, and for that alone I salute them. Tom Patterson can hammer at his kit with the best of them, or he can provide the lightest of percussive touches, couple this with the celestial vocals of Carly Comando and the bewitching keyboards and you have an extraordinary combination. This isn’t the kind of album I would normally like but there is something about this release that is utterly enchanting.

The opening track You immediately draws you in, the mix of pounding drums and sparkling keyboards works perfectly with the ethereal vocals, from this point in I’m hooked. Paycheck is the other stand out song on the album. A classic driving bouncy pop tune with a chorus that is reminiscent of the kind of early eighties synthpop that Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark did so well when they started out.  These two songs will be gracing my playlist for the foreseeable future and are worth acquiring the album for. Whilst the other seven cuts on Break are not as engaging as the aforementioned tracks, they keep you enthralled with changes of tempo and style throughout the album.

I became so smitten with the keyboards and drums combination on this album that I was actually disappointed when a guitar surfaced on the slow burning ballad Too Much, and that isn’t something I thought I’d find myself writing. This is the perfect soundtrack for when those late night’s have turned into early mornings, Slingshot Dakota are a band who are making something unique and maybe that’s part of their charm.