The words "sophomore slump" have become a cliché in the music business because too often a second album falls short of people's expectations. The latest release from Dakoda Motor Co. pretty much avoids the dreaded slump.
This is fun toe-tapping music that spans a music range from Servant to Social Distortion. It doesn't seem to matter what style they attempt, they do a great job with both the instruments and vocals. Fans of their debut will recognize the music as being similar, but there seems to be a higher level of intensity on this release. My only complaint is they could have gone even further so that the two releases sounded a little more different-but this is minor.
The guitar-playing front-man is Peter King. The professional surfing champion uses his background to write attention-grabbing lyrics in addition to assisting lead singer Davia Vallesillo with some bgvs. The vocals overall are mixed to be more part of the music as opposed to out in front-making it slightly harder to initially discern the lyrics.
Bassist Derik Toy takes advantage of some freedom to play around in a few spots. Chuck Cummings' drumming is a large part of the intensity of the release-not with solos, but just keeping a good pace.
The lyrics are no-nonsense Christian-we all need God and His love. However, don't be afraid to play this to your non-Christian friends because of the catchy tunes and the vocal mix should make this accessible to everyone who enjoys the alternative/pop surf-rock sound.
Similar sounding releases
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1996Audio AdrenalineBloom
1999Room Full of WaltersEl Grande
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