Dakota - Heart and Soul

  by Lisa Torem

published: 2 / 3 / 2010

---

Review

23 year old Ben Talbot may be one of the UK’s newest rising stars. In this new ten-track CD ‘Heart and Soul’ Talbot and his comrades, all members of the band Dakota, provide a wavering, but often crystal-clear pond in which the heartsick lover can seek reflection. Inspired by his own romantic losses, Talbot tosses himself into naked lyricism. The album’s electric guitar work seamlessly wafts and weaves around his discoveries. “Sitting here something feels so wrong/I wish you were on your way,” he sings wistfully on this first ballad. Then ‘Wild Child’ picks up with force and thematic groundedness.“She used to live in the country/She was daddy’s girl but now she’s getting older/There’s so much she wants to see,” Talbot sings, ending key phrases with irresistible falsetto. This touching, coming of age fable is charmingly British pop-inflected. “Used to be such a good girl/Used to be so shy/Who’s walking the street to find you?” the story continues. By the tale’s end we feel a kinship with both characters’ points of view. ‘Why Don’t You Like Me?’ casts a nostalgic shadow on poet-songwriters of the 60s, “Looking into the corner/I was trying to escape the ghost of you,” Talbot ruminates with a sorrowful yearning and a vulnerable tinge. Scratchy, fuzz guitar adds a fifth dimension to the emotional madness. Then‘Even If You Go Away’ starts out with savage percussion and steely-throated guitar, followed by the mysterious ‘She.’ “She lives in the city with cars passing by/ Petrol fuel makes her feel so high” triggers this nuance-filled classic. Psychedelic guitar and disturbing lyrics build up to a heaving hotbed of human emotion. “She doesn’t know which way to turn/She’s taking a taxi to a nowhere town/Wherever she goes they don’t want her around” goes the story. Following in the steps of songs like ‘Nowhere Man,’ ‘She’ has already created quite a stir in the United Kingdom. ‘Heart and Soul’ commences with gut-wrenching chord changes; “Turned into someone I don’t know/Gotta move on, gotta let go/You’re breaking my heart/You’ll break my soul.” The sizzling guitar chord changes on this descend and then feverishly take you by surprise. ‘We Get Along’ is sober, but has the underpinnings of optimism.“When there’s nothing left to lose/Your friends have all gone home/You’re dancing all alone/We get along…” Dakota embellishes the stages of love in sometimes inexplicable ways, but the mood, the storytelling and Talbot’s exceptionally evocative voice keep the journey blissfully real. This band is very definitely going places.

Track Listing:-

1 On My Own
2 Wild Child
3 Why Don't You Like Me?
4 Even If You Go Away
5 She
6 Heart And Soul
7 We Get Along
8 Taking Over
9 Can't Remember
10 Closure Song