Here’s another one that has been out for a while, but I just discovered this summer. Kid Dakota’s self-released EP, So Pretty, sounds like some weird combination of Built to Spill and Low, if that is at all imaginable. Darren Jackson’s rugged guitar work along with his sincere and sometimes devastating vocals compliment Christopher McGuire’s percussion and drum work perfectly. But don’t underestimate the sonic capabilities of this two-piece - they could easily blow your ears out.

The title track is a lugubrious and haunting song filled with minimalist instrumentation and a loud, distortion-induced chorus which frames Jackson’s quirky and eerie lyrics like the haunting, “instead of a habit, you should have a hobby / like Barbie or bubble gum cards.” However, the gloom is interrupted, briefly, by the slow and lovely acoustic love (or lust) song, “Pairin’ Off.” Throughout it all, Kid Dakota understands that plodding tempos and severe honesty can be as effective (or even more so) than blazing speed and extreme dynamics.

--A. K. Gold