Description
Welcome Race Fans is the sophomore album by the American alternative rock band Dakoda Motor Co., released on Myrrh Records in 1994, a division of Word. The album was recorded and mixed by Eddie Ashworth at Total Access Studio in Redondo Beach, California; with Louis Gutierrez producing. The album track “Trip To Pain” saw a music video treatment from director/artist/producer Steve Taylor.
Pretend for a moment you are so close to the ocean you can hear the waves crash. The sun beams into your skin, and someone on roller blades just whizzes by on a perfect California day. The music of Dakota Motor Co. would provide the perfect soundtrack for a scene like that. DMC has this alluring quality about its music that allows people Christian and none-Christian to hear the message and let it soak in like the sun. The band has an attitude of acceptance and carefree down-to-earth feel that makes one smile and simply embrace the music.
‘Welcome Race Fans’ has more of a musical kick than the band’s debut album ‘Into the Son‘, but still contains the same optimistic news of God’s love in an energy that can’t be refused. The new album has more diversity from one song to the next, touching base in a number of different styles. An example of something different for DMC can be found on the song «Uglier», but there’s no lack of songs that touch your heart, from «Friend in My Eyes» and «Love Runs Home» to the drive of «Alive» and «Trip to Pain», or the powerful message put forth on «Stand Up». The common element in all of these songs is the happy, easy-to-dance-to feel they share, while clearly proclaiming God’s truth.
Dakoda is growing as a band. Not only are people embracing the music they make, they’re falling in love with the band members themselves: Davia Vallesillo’s Go-Go-esque voice, Peter King and Elliot Chenault and their groovin’ guitar styles, Derik Toy’s melodic bass lines, and Chuck Cummings with his easy-going California rhythms. These guys are ready for the ride, and we’re all invited to jump on board. It’s gonna be a blast. [Hilary Granger, CCM, July 1994]
Hype is a terrible thing when dealing with a work of art; preferably, the work should be judged on its own intrinsic merit, without all the clamor of events surrounding the album. Unfortunately, with Dakoda Motor Co. there’s been hype since day one (the band “Mary’s Danish” gets mentioned more often in stories about Dakoda than it does in stories about Mary’s Danish). Any smart music shopper knows that who you know is irrelevant – the question is what does the album sound like?
Which brings us to ‘Welcome Race Fans’, essentially their first real studio album as a band. The album kicks off promisingly with «Alive», a track that seems to indicate a band that’s gelled as a unit and matured with time and experience, sporting more edge than the surf-pop elements of ‘Into The Son’. «Truth» hits the mid-tempo range with the catchy melody and the intriguing refrain “I don’t want you to be afraid/ cause I’m not afraid for you.” The third track seems to cement Dakoda’s position as a band approaching a vibrant level of rock maturity, with «Trip To Pain», a moody rocker with shades of surf-psychedelia.
The problem from here is that, while there are some other good songs on the album, they pale next to the first three tracks (and «Love Runs Home» is a vapid Meatloaf tribute if I ever heard one).
Things pick up a bit with «Stand Up», recapturing a hint of that free-wheeling spirit of ‘Into The Son’. And «Ooh That Girl» and «Friend In My Eyes» are okay – but once the album falters, it never remembers the furious joy of «Alive», «Truth» and «Trip To Pain».
It’s very likely the incongruency of ‘Welcome Race Fans’ is Dakoda trying to keep their artistic options open for future albums – in which case, we may see this album as an important turning point. Dakoda Motor Company is certainly a band with potential. Until then, the best we can say is that ‘Welcome Race Fans’ is a five-star EP with some filler. [Chris Well, Syndicate Magazine, July 1994, Vol. 9, Issue 2]
> iTunes
CD tracklist:
01. Alive – 4:21
02. Truth – 3:02
03. Trip To Pain – 4:59
04. Uglier – 2:18
05. Love Runs Home – 3:02
06. Where Did It Go? – 2:47
07. Stand Up – 3:50
08. Ooh, That Girl – 3:31
09. Friend In My Eyes – 3:35
10. Free – 3:28
11. Rockin’ In The Mall – 1:43
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Myrrh Records.
A full-page advertisement for the Dakoda Motor Co. album Welcome Race Fans was featured on the back cover of the July 1994 issue of Syndicate Magazine.
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