Combining last year's self-released five-song EP of the same name with three new songs, this haunting, frayed collection serves as the full-length debut that Kid Dakota never had. It delivers the same damaged, pavement-scraping feel as its cover photo of the group's namesake frontman, Darren Jackson, wearing a sling with a scab-covered face. The native of Bison, S.D., sounds like a more threatening Elliott Smith as he sings such lines as, "I read all your diaries/ I know he's more than a friend." Jackson uses cool-weather imagery in songs such as "The Overcoat" and "Pairin' Off," but there is already plenty of ice. His swirling, climactic, melody-less music is masterfully shaped by free-thinking drummer Christopher McGuire, bassist Zak Sally (whose other group, Low, founded the Chairkickers label) and Jackson's stormy guitar. "Pretty" is probably the last word to use in describing their work.