The idea behind Slingshot Dakota is marvellous. Luscious female vocals, a sprinkling of keys and some driving basslines, it has all the ingredients to be near-perfect. And in ‘I-78’ they’ve written a beautifully brooding track juxtaposed by some delightful keys and vocals. Except the Dakotas – who have some very strong Latterman connections – aren’t quite consistent enough to hit the spot enough. And ultimately this record tails off a little by the end. It’s good, but it could be better.
As soon as I clapped eyes on this album I wanted to like it. The packaging is joyous – featuring lovely ghost-like characters (similar to Farewell‘s cover actually) and is made of card with a lovely little pull out sheet. Just from that i wanted to like this record. And I do, I just believe the high points of this album – ‘Let Go’ and ‘Ohio’, for instance, – suggest the band could write a better full album than the one they’ve delivered. I guess sometimes expectations are set and it becomes difficult to shift them and I think this is one of those times. It’s a great little indie/lo-fi record, but not quite as good as it may have been.