After a handful of small D.I.Y. releases and a move to Portland, Montana natives
Sioux Falls deliver their debut LP,
Rot Forever. In 2016, challenging new listeners with a 73-minute double album -- especially when it's your first one -- is a gutsy move, but there is much to love on this sprawling monolith of disillusioned guitar rock that feels equally sprung from the mountains and the band room.
Sioux Falls are singer/guitarist Isaac Eiger, bassist Fred Nixon, and drummer Ben Scott, and their penchant for '90s-influenced indie rock is apparent in the contradicting loud/quiet song structures, dissonant/melodic guitar work, and detached/howled vocals.
Built to Spill,
Modest Mouse, and early
Weezer are a few names that tend to get thrown around in reference to
Sioux Falls, but ultimately they're their own band and whether intended or not, their geographical roots play a role in their sound. Shambling rockers like "Past Tense" and "In Case It Gets Lost" are pure youthful catharsis, heavy and lonesome as the mountainous state that birthed them. Tales of decay like the seven-minute "Copy/Paste" and the shorter but no less potent "Dinosaur Dying" offer steadfast pop hooks and epic choruses with well-worn melodies that fall just south of full-on melancholia. Smaller-scaled tunes like the banjo-aided "Practice Space" and the slow-building "San Francisco Earthquake" offer a bit more variety on what is a long but very ambitious debut. ~ Timothy Monger