Dakota Beats

Some of the bands most dedicated fans have all eagerly congregated at The Clifton Wetherspoons Pub in Sedgley to commence pre-drinking at the ridiculous time of 11:30 am; some may call that a borderline alcohol problem, we however call it extreme winning. By the time the coach arrives at about midday, let’s just say our whistles are wet and we’re ready for more. Facing a hefty coach trip from the Midlands to our country’s capital is normally a thing of dread but when surrounded with a group of pretty wicked people who are up for a party possessing backpacks laced with alcohol we welcomed it, hell we embraced it.

Arriving in Camden around 2pm - having consumed a hefty amount of vodka myself – we commence the tour of Camden’s finest drinking holes aiding us to pass over the line from being a bit tipsy to becoming happily drunk; there’s laughing, slurry personal conversations and a few shenanigan’s (including many desperate scrambles to toilets and losing the small boy named Ryan multiple times), it’s been an extremely exciting day and a bloody drunk one at that.

By the time it’s time to finally head over to the venue to see Dakota Beats play their set, some of us are a bit drunk (Me specifically) and upon arrival are over the moon to discover the venue has cheap alcohol! So after another 4 pints and a couple of shots it’s time for the band to play; having seen the band twice previous to this show and reviewed their debut EP, I was quite familiar with some the material and what the bands live shows entail. Considering this isn’t a hometown and the band is only a support act to a relatively small show, they actually receive quite a good reception. It’s all well deserved though after that set; energy, attitude and the material to back it up, I even had somebody say to me that he believes the band remind him of a heavier version of Joy Division and I agree with that in a way you can see where he’s coming from. It’s no secret that this band is my guilty pleasure (mostly because I told them) and I do think it’s criminal this isn’t a bigger show and the band hasn’t got the fan base down here that they deserve but hey, their career is definitely moving forward so who knows what the future holds! 9/10"

James Webb -

- Alternative Vision

" I stood in a full Newhampton Arts Centre in Wolverhampton awaiting the headlining band of the night – Dakota Beats. The five piece, from Dudley, West Midlands, have built up a strong reputation and following since they launched in January of this year, and their supporters were out in full force. With that, they kicked off the set with one of their strongest tracks ‘Come Home’, which is indie-pop at its best, with an instant impact and sing along lyrics. ‘Back to me’ and ‘The Guilt’ made up an energetic set full of fresh catchy songs with a rock and roll edge. Their presence onstage was full of confidence and they performed with a total belief in everything they do.



Later on in the set the band had something a little bit special up their sleeves in terms of onstage visuals, as midway through ‘Fire Desire’ tons of confetti shot out across the audience and smoke flooded the stage. They then play fan favourite ‘Mary Jayne’, which, along with ‘Fire Desire’ from the night, made up two thirds of their EP release ‘No New Faces’. Closing the set with ‘The Tides’, a song with its soaring rock and roll guitars and big choruses capturing the sound of Dakota Beats perfectly. Think the Buzzcocks with a modern Indie twist.



And so in a local music scene that seems at a bit of a standstill at the moment, Dakota Beats are definitely a group that are pushing things forward and are one to watch. If you want to do so they can next be seen: Sat 15th October - Dublin Castle, Camden, London"



- Joe Churchman - - Wolvesunion.org

"Dakota Beats drew in more fans on Wednesday night as they supported Kassidy at the Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton.

Kicking off with new song The Guilt, the venue was half empty but by the end of the set the room was full of many more heads nodding along. As ever, the set was full of energy as the five-piece from Sedgley continue to gig hard since their inception in the January.

Runaway and Back To Me are tight rock and roll songs with choruses that are made for singing along to. The real star of the show came when they played When The Fires Fly. The most mature of their tracks, its rip-roaring riff that reels you in before the clever and dark lyrics leave you deep in thought.

Lead singer Dan Harris constantly fidgets around the stage, tugging at his hair, singing to people in the crowd and proving to be a focal point for the band, even during their poppier track Fire Desire. A catchy early-Arctic Monkeys riff pushes the song along and once again the chorus proves to be one that punctuates the song perfectly and is great to sing along to.

The riff-heavy Sir Frank James storms along at an almost grunge-like pace but the middle eight is where the song is set apart. ‘Live fast but you die alone’ is shouted down the microphone by Harris with the passion and vigour of the track plain to see in his wide eyes that stares down the audience.

Mary Jayne is yet another catchy tune which features prominently on their three-track EP ‘No New Faces’ which is a lyric from this excellently crafted track, which was heard by significantly more people than their first. Final tune Come Home is a shade more ballad-like but during the final minute, Harris’ voice shows how much it improved.

Next up for the busy band is a support slot with Specials’ Neville Staples in Stoke as they continue to gig hard." - Jon Pritchard - Midlands Music Maniacs

"Dakota Beats drew in more fans on Wednesday night as they supported Kassidy at the Slade Rooms in Wolverhampton. Kicking off with new song The Guilt, the venue was half empty but by the end of the set the room was full of many more heads nodding along. As ever, the set was full of energy as the five-piece from Sedgley continue to gig hard since their inception in the January. Runaway and Back To Me are tight rock and roll songs with choruses that are made for singing along to. The real star of the show came when they played When The Fires Fly. The most mature of their tracks, its rip-roaring riff that reels you in before the clever and dark lyrics leave you deep in thought. Lead singer Dan Harris constantly fidgets around the stage, tugging at his hair, singing to people in the crowd and proving to be a focal point for the band, even during their poppier track Fire Desire. A catchy early-Arctic Monkeys riff pushes the song along and once again the chorus proves to be one that punctuates the song perfectly and is great to sing along to. The riff-heavy Sir Frank James storms along at an almost grunge-like pace but the middle eight is where the song is set apart. ‘Live fast but you die alone’ is shouted down the microphone by Harris with the passion and vigour of the track plain to see in his wide eyes that stares down the audience. Mary Jayne is yet another catchy tune which features prominently on their three-track EP ‘No New Faces’ which is a lyric from this excellently crafted track, which was heard by significantly more people than their first. Final tune Come Home is a shade more ballad-like but during the final minute, Harris’ voice shows how much it improved. Next up for the busy band is a support slot with Specials’ Neville Staples in Stoke as they continue to gig hard." - Jon Pritchard, - Midlands Music Maniacs

"An effervescent, brief opening set from Dudley-based five piece, Dakota Beats, celebrating a deliciously tight, young band oozing songwriting potential. And no more so obvious that with the exquisite set closer ‘Come Home’, a crafted little gem with soaring optimism and melodic insistency. Watch this space." - John Kennedy, - Birmingham Live

"An effervescent, brief opening set from Dudley-based five piece, Dakota Beats, celebrating a deliciously tight, young band oozing songwriting potential. And no more so obvious that with the exquisite set closer ‘Come Home’, a crafted little gem with soaring optimism and melodic insistency. Watch this space." - John Kennedy, - Birmingham Live

"An effervescent, brief opening set from Dudley-based five piece, Dakota Beats, celebrating a deliciously tight, young band oozing songwriting potential. And no more so obvious that with the exquisite set closer ‘Come Home’, a crafted little gem with soaring optimism and melodic insistency. Watch this space." - John Kennedy, - Birmingham Live

"An effervescent, brief opening set from Dudley-based five piece, Dakota Beats, celebrating a deliciously tight, young band oozing songwriting potential. And no more so obvious that with the exquisite set closer ‘Come Home’, a crafted little gem with soaring optimism and melodic insistency. Watch this space." - John Kennedy, - Birmingham Live

"Dakota Beats impress a Ska/Punk crowd at The Underground, Stoke. The newly formed "uplifiting Indie Pop" band excelled & were at ease with each other. Lead singer Daniel Harris performed like an experienced 'showman'. They warmed up the crowd for Neville Staple (ex The Specials) & have recently performed in front of Amy Winehouse. One's to watch!!" - Jenny Roberts, - Spitfire Radio

"Before I get onto the music I just want to say what a bloody lot of effort the bands put into the presentation for this EP. Each CD was given out for free upon entry to their first gig in a sleeve that looked like a vinyl sleeve and when the CD is removed they’ve had the grooves and a label printed onto the CD itself to make it actually look like a vinyl with the name and track list on it. To get that produced and giving it away for free is a big investment and when it comes out of the bands own pockets it becomes even more impressive. It just shows that they are a band that genuinely wants their fans to be happy and have access to their music easily and not miss out.

The first track “Fire Desire” is a fun bouncy track that you can imagine people really getting a vibe from and dancing to into a club. It’s in the style of an indie dance track but with the guitar work not being bland but actually being quite interesting.
“Mary Jayne” is the same style but mellower than the previous track; I particularly like the vocals on this track, the singer has an extremely good range in his voice and it flows beautifully through the track rather than being whiney or wheezy which is refreshing. This is definitely my favourite track on the EP.

The final and shortest track on the album “Sir Frank James” is definitely a lot more in your face and powerful compared to the others. It’s definitely got a more aggressive feel to it and is more up tempo than the others and full of energy.
They’ve tackled different ends of their sound with this first EP from the mellow through bouncy and then a song with slight feelings of aggression. I like to see they’re not just making every song stick to exactly the same structure and attitude because that gets boring after a while whereas with these songs each song has its own personality.

They do look the part tonight; look very comfortable on stage oozing with confidence...I think that they only have great things ahead of them in the near future.

Definitely a promising first release from the boys with any luck they can take this sound further with their next release and with hopefully a few more songs on the next CD but for a debut release with no label you couldn’t have done much better. 4/5" - James Webb - Alternative Vision

"On first impressions this five piece band from Birmingham certainly look the part as they take to stage for tonight’s entertainment at the Dublin Castle. Suede jackets, suede boots and there’s even an ultra stylish flat cap donned by guitarist James Amphlett that most couldn’t pull off. It’s a classic Indie look and it’s refreshing to hear that tonight their style is definitely followed up with an unyielding set of Indie songs.

The third act on and following a highly energetic performance from the previous act, the Dakota Beats instantly quash any fears that the energy levels would drop.

The evolution of their set is reminiscent of a spark evolving into a flame ball with each punk infused rock song acting as the fuel to the fire. This was mirrored by the 50 or 60 strong crowd who with each passing song appeared to be enjoying proceedings more and more as the duration of the 30 minutes moved along nicely, no doubt helped by the conveniently placed bar to the far side of the perfectly atmospheric room.

When lead singer Daniel Harris introduces a song mid set he steps up to address the audience and simply says; ‘this one’s called Fire Desire’. It’s a standard introduction, but the song that follows is by no means of standard quality. ‘Fire Desire’ is a catchy Indie tune with the potential to hook Indie kids across the country and reel them towards the dance floor.

As the set moves along in a seamless manner, there’s clear evidence that front man Daniel Harris has the charm, energy and personality to be a successful front man. His trademark stare and double finger point out to the crowd somewhat reminds me of Ian Curtis, the irony being that every other aspect on show is of a much more positive vibe than that of Curtis’s band Joy Division.

The rest of the band cohesively perform at a fantastically frantic pace on songs like ‘Sir Frank James’, offering the crowd a slice of tasty Punk pop pie to satisfy the appetite. Both lead guitarist Thomas and rhythm guitarist James add a full bodied oomph to proceedings and as brothers; you can tell they have played together on many occasions. The same can also be said of the rhythm sections of Richie Campbell on bass guitar and Mark Grigg on drums.

Towards the closing of the set a group gathers close to the stage for a dance, a sign that the band clearly connected with the audience in a way that had most donning their dancing shoes and in some cases quite had them literally twirling to the beat. Noted by the lead singer, his beaming grin and positive aura spilled over throughout the closing numbers to the set with great effect.

Considering tonight’s concert is outside of their home town of Birmingham and given the songs on show is unlikely to be known by many, the crowd’s reaction is quite an achievement. One thing’s for sure, the Dakota Beats offer delightful Indie pop fun and that cannot be a bad thing." - Phil Fitzpatrick, HitSmith.com - HitSmith

"Unashamedly uplifting indie pop from the big smoke of Dudley in the English Midlands. Their new record comes out just a week earlier so this could be the start of something beautiful." - - Bloc+ Glasgow

"Whilst Viva Brother have yet to prove they possess souls with their bolshiness, Dakota Beats are a band to ooze natural swagger, particularly the swirling ‘Mary Jayne’ to the pounder ‘Fire Desire’. The general consensus is Dakota Beats are an altogether different beast – slicker, more polished, and more ambitious" - - The Scrawny Online

"Big things ahead, thats my prediction for 2011" - - Jenny Birch 101.8 WCR FM

"Dakota Beats have the attitude, ability and most importantly the confidence in theirown abilty to pull it off" - Brum Notes Magazine

"Brilliantly uplifting indie pop" - Glasgow City of Music

"Very interesting, well thought out hooky guitar motifs, a bit Jon McGeogh in places, the late great Magazine/Banshees maestro" - Bugbear Promotions