DAKOTA BLUE “Plaza to Plaza / Specific System” (Third Kind)


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.



--Ryan