Dakota Slim

Louse of Taos

Time is Crow

Number Three

Dakota Slim’s third full-length, Hitherto the Aminals, is a sympathetic commentary about ignorance and neglect towards our woodland friends. A young San Francisco-based songwriter, Dakota Slim, a.k.a. Travis Keats Ross, uses animals as a starting point for his meditation on human morality. It’s a fascinating listen, as his music releases a stream of guilt, childhood memories, nostalgia, shame and hope, all at once. 
A looped wolf howl begins “The Autumn Court,” which layers spooky guitar lines and violent percussion with Ross repeating, “Killing me in open air / Killing me is no fair.” Most of these fifteen songs clock in at under three minutes, showing Ross‘ restraint and respect for the sometimes rambling art of folk songwriting.
The album’s soundscapes meld the organic and the electronic, utilizing technologies and musical ideas ranging from musique concrete to current hip-hop. It’s the clear goal of Ross, as well as his excellent producer, MRL Dennis, that lyrics and melodies stand out over the impressive cornucopia of sounds. The result is that the human quality of the music, especially Ross’ voice, is more apparent here than on any of his previous releases.
Ross focuses on his ambivalent stance towards “Man” on the album’s concise closing song. “Man is the worst creature in the world / Goddamn this man can never get filled,” is his lament, which is both easy and uncomfortable to relate to. Though his statement may seem arrogant at first, Ross stays vulnerable by concluding, “I say I hate them but I love them anyway / It’s no definite / Good is a choice that you make.” This moral ends the dark fables, and Dakota Slim proves that beautiful art is in fact mankind’s most endearing quality.

-Jake Rose