If we were to peg Dakota Blue as anything, it’d be
more difficult than you might expect. See, Blue, the LA synth pop/new
wave/goth/post-punk hybrid artist, seemingly wears his heart right there on his
sleeve, just like any good synth pop/new wave/goth/post-punk artist totally
would. But you also get the feeling listening to his double EP on Third Kind, Plaza to Plaza / Specific System, that
he’s keeping you at arm’s length about what’s really going on with him,
feigning closeness by delivering proximity.
Aloof.
That’s OK, as the entire genre he uses as his
personal sandbox is about building barriers against the mainstream, the “outsiders”
circling the wagons and protecting their personal ideals against encroachment. And
he does this quite well, even though the constructions he erects are fragile,
teetering in the wind, fragments of tunes dreamed together across a city
breeze. Thus they’re more powerful, more defiant in the face of urban ennui.
Still, their hearts are guarded, and Dakota Blue
lets in flickers of light when only he is vulnerable enough. The dance is real throughout.
And look at that full-shell artwork! Stunning. Thick
cardstock slipcase too.
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