Those that actually heard Dakota Moon's overlooked self-titled debut will note a certain degree of musical intensification on A Place to Land. Indeed this soulful quartet first began its career in strictly groove induced R&B settings, but they've slowly developed a grittier rock sound over the years. The group says the transition came from their flavorful live sets, which carried over into the studio when they reunited with producer Andrew Logan. But even Logan, or any other producer for that matter, couldn't mask the group's obvious desire to sound like the Blessid Union of Souls, with A Place to Land seeming to branch off of that group's Welcome to the Buzz project from three years ago.
Perhaps the underlying problem in this disc lies in the fact that it sounds about three years old. Granted that's not that much time in the grand scale of life, but when it comes with music industry trends, fads could have long been brewed and died off within that amount of time. Evidence comes in the saucy "Let Me Have It," the soulfully melodic "So Good For You," and acoustic simplicity of "I'd Be a Fool," which you'll swear you heard before by either the Blessid Union of Souls or someone else of that waning era, (say maybe Seal).
Admittedly, there are few saving graces that don't discount the disc as a total waste. The lead single "Looking for a Place to Land" has a certain degree of catchiness with a mild acoustic rock base, soulful harmonies, and the ability to make you sing along after only a few listens. And then there's the finale rock/gospel ballad "My Song," drenched in strings and a spirit-lifting choir. Sure, the lyrics are trite as they come, but it will no doubt put a smile on your
face.
2 tocks
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