Jealousy, betrayal, self-loathing, addiction...not exactly the most attractive personality traits. But Kid Dakota takes these tarnished attributes of life gone bad and twists them into something beautiful on their debut album So Pretty. Originally self-released in 2001 as a five-song EP, So Pretty has been reissued on Low's Chairkickers Union Music with the addition of three new songs and the help of Low's Zak Sally on bass.

So Pretty plays like a personal journal of damaged goods/people treading at the bottom of a pool of cynicism, despair and isolation. Narrated by melodic vocals that resonate with an emotional Elvis Costello vibrato, the Minneapolis duo creates music that sinks deep into the bell jar. Judging from their bio, singer Darren Jackson's lyrics and the photo of a beat up kid on the cover (possibly Jackson, himself?), it's not a stretch to connect the stories to the writer and the writer to the stories.

Like a soundtrack to a collection of stories, the music mirrors the lyrics, ranging from a soft, slow drawl to haunting, wailing guitars infused with loud gushes of bass, guitar and percussions. Sparse clean notes dig into dirty, gritty riffs. Staccato beats orchestrated by ice cube trays tap out scattered rhythms. Strained vocals utter muted pangs of pain. Though much of the album is dramatic and down-right depressing, these aren't sad, sappy songs. These are not tales of total defeat; these are stories of a world-weary traveler.

While at times the lyrics dip into boiler-plate-sad-song mode, songs such as "Crossin Fingers," "Smokestack," and "So Pretty" highlight Jackson's bent for songwriting and the innovate spark of the band's music. By the end of the nearly ten-minute epic that wraps up the album, it's clear that Kid Dakota is a band to look out for.

--Aerin Wilson