Brooklyn’s Dakota Jones follow up their 2021 debut album Black Light, with Heartbreakers Space Club on their own Lord Please Records. The band share that Ziggy Stardust by David Bowie, plus D’Angelo’s discography and early Prince were on heavy rotation during recording sessions. However Heartbreakers Space Club sees Dakota Jones evolve along their own path. Led by the extraordinary vocal talent of Tristan Carter-Jones its an album brimming with the unexpected, with joy and with a band in harmony thus producing a body of work overflowing with confidence. Carter-Jones states the following about the album:
“Heartbreakers Space Club – doubling as both something celestial and a place that you hold for yourself, is where you lose yourself to find yourself, break yourself down to build back up into the most authentic version of you. One moment you’re sitting in a dark corner of the bar smoking a cigarette, gazing out of the window into a candy pink sky, the next moment all of the walls disappear and you’re floating in the middle of nothing, weightless and without a care. Let it take you there.“
Album opener ‘Moon Song‘ is a stunning surprise and proves from the very outset that Dakota Jones are ever-evolving. It’s a statement of intent, considered and thoughtful but delivered with a razor sharp focus and accompanied by scuzzy guitars that suddenly drop to make way for a spoken word outro. Recent single ‘Misbehave Me’ takes us on a smooth journey simply oozing sensuality. As described by the band:
“If ‘Moon Song’ is the landing, ‘Misbehave Me’ is exiting the ship, a stranger in a strange and glorious land. It’s a moment of self-discovery and exploration in a world beyond your wildest imagination.“
One of the highlights of Heartbreakers Space Club is ‘Downtown’, and not just because of the expletives in the first couple of lines. It ebbs and flows taking us along unpredictable paths. The honesty in the lyrics are wonderful: “I’m not scared, just a little bit apprehensive“. Lead single ‘Sugar Pie’ is simply delicious. It bobs along dripping with funk and soul. Carter-Jones excels here with her honey-laced vocals which literally stop you in your tracks. The band expand:
“It’s the effortless cool of a gang of two, walking in step through streets paved with sugar under a plush pink sky. Don’t know where you’re going and you don’t care. It’s rose-coloured glasses on the tip of your nose, and kisses like cotton candy.”
On ‘Feel Something’ Carter-Jones’ vocals soar but in a slow groove which is overtaken by a saxophone in the final third, until the track comes to an abrupt but crisp end. When asked if their home city of New York impacts their sound, Carter-Jones says:
“Definitely. We wrote this album over the course of a full year, and throughout the year in New York you feel those distinct changes and differences in the seasons. It’s not just the weather that’s changing, it’s the entire attitude of the city.“
‘Dissent’N’Gin’, shifts the mood again, this time with a nod to 90s hip-hop. Carter-Jones gently sings/raps and with record scratching thrown in. I suspect this is a fun track for Dakota Jones to play, beautifully crafted and hence successful within the album.
Carter-Jones does the seemingly impossible on ‘Scared’, with a vocal that appears to have no room to take breath. Its a master class in vocal gymnastics with the fast pace of the delivery of the lyrics in addition to a range which seriously impresses. The soundscape is just glorious providing a backdrop for Carter-Jones to hang her talent on. “Who you scared of now?”
Closing track ‘Countdown’ does exactly what is says on the tin with the chorus of ‘6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1’ however as we should know by now, the rhythm in its delivery is totally unexpected and so it sounds so original. It’s a track expressing that anything is possible and gives a positive close to this gorgeous album.
Production duties on Heartbreakers Space Club were overseen by the band’s bassist and multi-instrumentalist Scott Jet Kramp. Along with Carter-Jones on vocals, the rest of Dakota Jones comprise Steve Ross on the drums and Eddy Marshall on the guitar. Dakota Jones just make everything feel a little better. And what more could you possibly want in your music right now.
For more information on Dakota Jones please check their website and facebook.