Slingshot Dakota emerged as a keyboard-and-drum indie rock duo based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, built around the musical and marital partnership of Carly Comando and Tom Patterson. Across releases such as their 2007 effort Their Dreams Are Dead, But Ours Is the Golden Ghost! and the 2016 album Break, the pair cultivated a high-energy, emotive approach anchored by interweaving male/female harmonies, drawing parallels to similarly configured acts like Matt and Kim and Mates of State while projecting a harder edge.
Comando launched the project in 2004 alongside Pat Schramm and Jeff Cunningham, both formerly of the pop-punk outfit Latterman. After issuing the debut album Keener Sighs, Schramm and Cunningham departed, prompting Comando to reshape Slingshot Dakota into its current duo format with Patterson handling drums and vocals. The 2007 LP Their Dreams Are Dead, But Ours Is the Golden Ghost! crystallized their signature approach, centered on Comando routing her digital piano through myriad effects to generate its forceful sound. Their first release for Topshelf Recordings arrived in 2012 with Dark Hearts, where the duo further refined its characteristically heavy power pop aesthetic. Before delivering 2016’s Break, Comando and Patterson wed, which infused fresh perspective into both their songwriting and collaborative dynamic. Fronted by the anthemic single “Louder,” the group unveiled its fifth album, Heavy Banding, in 2019.
