“I’ve been witness to the sophisticated and rare talent that is Kid Dakota since their debut but was not prepared for this masterpiece. It’s as if all the intent and power of electric music has been condensed down to the purest and most fluid form. Darren Jackson has always been a songwriting inspiration to me but this record is just pure awe.”

Alan Sparhawk (LOW)

NEW ALBUM

Age of Roaches was completed as Covid-19 was spreading throughout the world. Although not about the pandemic, the album makes the fear and anxiety produced by forces greater than one’s self palpable. With the assistance of some of Minnesota’s finest musicians - Alan Sparhawk, Jeremy Ylvisaker, Christopher McGuire, Ian Prince, Matthew Kazama, and Justin Korhonen - Darren Jackson weaves together the disparate themes of nuclear annihilation, ecological collapse, addiction, forced human migration, physical trauma, and the overwhelming presence of infinite space and time into a apocalyptic, postmodern concept album. Recorded at various Minnesota studios - Pachyderm (Cannon Falls), Sacred Heart (Duluth), Homesteader (Minneapolis) - over the past ten years, the album also marks a turning point in the career of Darren Jackson as a producer. For while simplicity has always been a hallmark of Kid Dakota’s sound, Age of Roaches combines this minimalism with an almost neurotic attention to detail that rewards repeated listening. Age of Roaches was released by Savannah, GA based label, Graveface Records on 12/11/2020.

SONGS

VIDEO

PHOTOS

PRESS

“Songs like the deceptively beautified "Prairie Flowers" and the missile-haunted title track are some of his bleakest and bloodiest. Age hasn't dulled the Kid's sharp edges or paranoia. But he does brighten the dark corners with awesome results in the cosmic-poppy "A Fox in a Cage" and the wondrous 7½-minute finale "Stephen Hawking."

Star Tribune

“Kid Dakota’s Age of Roaches certainly was engineered with the audiophile in mind. The record is a true sonic treat, dark survivalist imagery and all. Perfectly textured, each note perfectly positioned for the surround sound experience, this is an album meant to be heard from front to back.”

Independent Clauses

BIO

Kid Dakota is the musical moniker of Darren Jackson. Formed in 1999, Kid Dakota released two albums on LOW's Chairkicker's Union - “So Pretty” (2002), and “The West is the Future” (2004) - and four albums on Graveface Records - “A Winner's Shadow” (2008), “Listen to the Crows As They Take Flight” (2011), “Denervation” (2018), and “Age of Roaches.” His new double album, “MICD” will be released in 2022.

Darren is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, engineer, teacher, and producer. Although he grew up in a small town in Western South Dakota, Darren cut his musical teeth in Minneapolis. A fixture on the scene there for two decades, Darren founded two critically-acclaimed bands (Kid Dakota and the Olympic Hopefuls, aka The Hopefuls,), released ten albums, and won three Minnesota Music Awards including “Artist of the Year.” He has toured extensively in the United States and Europe, sharing stages with rock and roll icons such as Soul Asylum and the Violent Femmes as well as indie rock stalwarts like LOW and Black Moth Super Rainbow. He owns a recording studio in NE Minneapolis - Homesteader Studio - and has two Bedlington Terriers - Dante and Diva.

Contact

Booking - darrenjackson@gmail.com