Review: Dakota Suite, Signal Hill
The slowcore subgenre has turned out its share of duds over the years, but you don't count Dakota Suite among them. Evolving far beyond their first release "Mood Indigo," (a vague homage to Idaho's "Skyscrape") the Leeds based band featuring Chris Hooson and Spectrum's Richard Formby has developed a uniquely bluesy, horn-tinged sound that sets it apart from its peers.
Album opener "The Cost of Living" glides along atop a bed of trumpets; "you've got to love someone," Hooson's voice croons. Not an exaggerated singer, Hooson's understated vocals never come across as a depressed affectation, but more as though he's paying compliment to the high level of musicianship going on all around him.
"Clean Linen Sheets" is motivated by confident, sustain-elevated guitar flourishes. The horns that decorate the edges of "Close Enough to Tears" balance delicately with the brushed drums. The lap of the (probably cold and miserably English) sea that provides the backdrop of "Riverside" is looped to a perfect rhythm with the short song and seques directly into the almost Sea & Cake-ish instrumental "Raining Somewhere," bouyed by impressive high-hat and snare play.
Lest I mislead you, don't doubt for an instant that this is an album composed in d-minor. The title track revolves around a refrain of "you won't let me drown". If you don't have an outright bias against this stuff, Dakota Suite are a more than worthy addition to your collection. What's most surprising, perhaps, is how surefooted this album is considering that many feel that the time for this style has long passed into the San Francisco fog. London's Dakota Suite make a strong case for the Butterfly Effect in global weather patterns.

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