Slingshot Dakota Until The Day I Die

With two piece drum/synth bands sprouting up everywhere, I'm frequently visited by an outstanding memory of Mates of State at the 2008 Popped! Music Festival. Mates, by no surprise, dazzled.  Booming through a thrilling set, properly utilizing urgent skinwork and premier showmanship, they succeeded with distinction in capturing the true essence of the minimalist structure. Moving towards the point, they've set a high bar for the genre.

So when a friend suggested an up-and-coming band working a similar angle but integrating a few of their own spices, I thought, another one? How original.

Slingshot Dakota is the combined forces of Carly Comando and Tom Patterson. Unconsciously, you may already know Carly.  In 2007, her solo composition "Everyday" made quite the splash.  The song appeared in an episode of The Simpsons and the NBA promotional commercial, "Where Amazing Happens."  To be honest, I wasn't immediately thrown by them until I caught them live.

Seldom do I hear a Fugazi cover, and thankfully.  Often, the punk ethos that should accompany and elevate the attempt is rarely present, debasing the interpreting author and insulting the original.  So when the opening notes to "Waiting Room" emerged from Carly's keyboard, expectations were microscopic.  Despite the grand risk, they went for it and to my surprise, triumphed over the challenge. What followed next could only be described as an entanglement of vitality.  I was awed.

What's great about successful two piece acts like Slingshot Dakota is that, though small in number, they are fully capable of producing a grand impression of sound that thoroughly resonates within natural spaces.  The pair continued the set with the vibrant "Wave", "Ohio", and a new personal favorite "Until the Day I Die", all equally impressive with enduring verve.  Their latest effort, Their Dreams are Dead, But Ours Is the Golden Ghost! , is just phenomenal indie rock, bursting with sincerity and entrancing radiance at every intersection.

Overall, this is a band worth knowing. Carly and Tom are masterful at injecting passion into a performance and whipping an audience into an emotive frenzy.  The band will most likely be covering a lot of geography over the next year or so, be sure to check them out.