Dakota
Fronted by 23-year-old Ben Talbot, Dakota is a band poised for success. Encompassing the classic traits and the sounds of successful British pop, Dakota are the newest boys to demonstrate the talent this country has to offer.
The 10 songs that make up “Heart & Soul” reveal Dakota to be the missing link between the sweet sad pop of the 1960s and its harder anthemic 21st century counterpart. They’re a British pop band in the classic sense – natural tunesmiths with a taut underpull and muscular brevity – tough and tender at the same time. They are ready for stardom.
Dakota have taken the name from the New York apartment building where John Lennon lived and died. Talbot used his own life changing event to emotionally charge his music and create ‘Heart & Soul’. As with many classic musical conceptions this epiphany was destined to be brought about by a girl. Ben thought she was the one, but she wasn’t, and he found the aftermath of their split hard to deal with: “I didn’t understand it. I wanted to scream ‘Why don’t you love me? How can I make you still love me?’ There was despair, anger and hurt”.
As with much of Heart & Soul’s haunting content, his life experiences are ever present in the songs. The emotional delivery of brooding vocals through creeping disembodied voices accompanied by the sweeping guitars allows the listener to enter Ben’s world quite vividly. The title track is case in point as heartbreaking vocals and anthemic guitars flirt purposefully for the duration.
The result is a stunning record, steeped in nostalgia but with its feet firmly pointing forward. Dakota are a band brimming with promise for 2010.