Kid Dakota
The West Is The Future
[Chair Kickers; 2004; Indie Rock]
Rating: 7.7
kiddakota.com

From the intricate, yet creepy, woodcut artwork that accompanies each track's vocals in the liner notes to the complexities and deliberateness of every note and word, attention to detail is an important characteristic of this recording that is well worthy and demanding of your full attention. The story of hope, despair and loneliness in South Dakota plays out in a variety of chapters infused with rock, country, folk and psychadelia and various combinations of some or all.

Country-flavored rock Pilgrim is a tale of contempt for the promise of a better life out west. "The west is a promise / The west is a new land / The west is an old lie / The west is a bad man." Homesteader is a soaring Pink Floyd-esque depiction of the depths of humanity when times are tough. Ivan is a manic mix of Neil Young and a gypsy punk band whose commentary doesn't seem to fit into the storyline. Ten Thousand Lakes appears on the surface to be simply a tribute to Darren Jackson's homeland with it's delicate keys, melodic guitar and soothing vocals, yet hints at something darker. Starlite Motel sounds as if it could have been on Alice In Chain's Jar of Flies; a slow, grungy "love" song with background music from the "Prairie Bowl and Cactus Lounge" seeping in through the quiet moments. 2001 is an eerie reckoning with God. A spacey appreciation for survival and a doubtful promise to change his ways. Atomic Pilgrim completes the trip back to the original dream of a better time and place...

Kinda like Radiohead with heart and soul.