Slingshot Dakota anchor their new album with artistic ambition and cold-eyed, indie rock. The lyrics are tough in their street-level attack on subjects ranging from hope ("Until the Day I Die," parts 1 & 2), to party-like-a-rock-star humorous ("Let's Go," "Tour Song").

They write tunes, and literally jam them into shape, then cut 'em. There's a lot of rawness, and genuine excitement here. The result is a concise, punchy good time, emphasizing the songcraft inside.

The crossfire double guitar attack slashes and lightly distorts all the songs, sounding like a pair of acoustic/ electric Neil Youngs, trading crunchy flourishes.

Unlike so many other bands currently favored by the major labels and radio, Slingshot Dakota have the uncanny ability to make indie music that sounds familiar the first time you hear it!- Phil Rainone

 

One Win Choice - Never Suspend Disbelief (Jumpstartrecords.com)

One Win Choice rises from the punk/post-modernism to survey the battered beauty of late-century civilization, gravitating toward such subjects as teen angst, war, and looking a government straight in the eyes, artfully peering into each of those worlds.

Most of all, One Win Choice mines the gap between subways and skyscrapers with hardcore punk, fusing pop and noise because that's how life is now, equal parts ordinary and unknown.

"Powder Keg" for instance buckles and shreds until it accomplishes what all hard music aspires to: It sounds like a day at the sheet-metal shop. They finish off the song with a quote from Robert Kennedy about "...Love, wisdom, and compassion toward others." In a little over two minutes One Win Choice sums up over forty years of violence, and hope.- But the group's secret weapon is the way it so vividly captures the storms of confusion ("My Revolution," "New Rome"), anger and self-pride ("Alive," "All We Are"). that swirl around inside our heads at times. That comes through in the almost autistically skull-smacking lyrics, and the short, sharp, and shocking guitar riffs

Never Suspend Belief achieves that rare thing for any band- real consistency. The fact that they can express that feeling, even as they're rocking you like a Six Flags roller coaster ride, is what makes this band so singular and, possibly, indestructible.

- Phil Rainone

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