north dakota – ‘thing’ + ‘la la la’

Outside of a presumably scenic road trip, there isn’t an obvious connection between North Dakota and Tempe, Arizona. The all-female trio consisting of Mo Neuharth, Michelle Blades, and Emily Hobeheidar, have gone against logic and taken the northern Dakota’s frigid plains to the dry heat of their Arizona home making energetic noise pop with grace and ferocity.

North Dakota‘s debut EP is built with grace and executed boisterously. Perhaps the most intriguing element is their ability to sustain simplicity yet groove with abnormalities. Take ‘Thing’ for example, the creepy, mid-afternoon crime documentary synthline accompanies the line “you’re not what I need, you don’t make me feel a thing” as the song dances between submission and rowdiness. The aptly titled ‘La La La’ follows in similar steps, not clearly defining itself as bump or mosh, but it comes across as the heaviest track from the EP not to the extent of throwing chairs, but you’re gonna get out of the one you’re in.

Side note: I really hope the underlying theme of ‘China / Japan’ is based on the economic and political instability between the two countries.

North Dakota :: Bandcamp / Facebook