Kelly Kirwan
Dakota Blue has found a muse in the streets of Los Angeles. Wandering through one particular neighborhood (on foot, a rarity for LA), he absorbed aesthetic influences that would shape his forthcoming album, Rodeo Knife, out this September. "Bolo," his latest single and music video, is a picture of surreal isolation, rife with a subtle sense of foreboding—but more than that, the song is a sultry stunner.
"Bolo" begins with rolling percussion, reminiscent of that Western classic "Rawhide," before being joined by spare guitars and Dakota Blue's hesitant croon. The accompanying video follows the artist as he traipses (sometimes backwards) through empty industrial neighborhoods. We linger over his shadow stretching across the pavement, the footage becoming slightly distorted as it moves into shots of abandoned factories. He wanders these landscapes as a lone observer, like an astronaut exploring the deserted cities of a parallel earth—an effect that's heightened by the use of disorienting overlaid shots. Paired with Dakota Blue's simmering, understated sound, "Bolo" plays like film noir, teasing what promises to be a mesmerizing LP.