On her first full length album, Patterns, Whoa Dakota (Jesse Ott) spins a web of lush indie pop, graceful melodies and ardent lyrics. Building on 2015’s debut EP, I’m a Liar, the Nashville-based artist expands the sonic landscape on her new LP to an amalgam of electropop and R&B. Rife with raw lyrical honesty and enchanting textures, Whoa Dakota’s sophomore effort, due out Summer 2018, is destined to captivate listeners everywhere.

The first glimpse into her new sound, “Patterns” (September 15), is dripping in bright bells and glittery guitar, evokes early Madonna and 90s Mariah Carey.  While the jaunty pace of the track will make you want to dance around your room, the lyrics and those of it’s album counterparts, are destined to make you mourn for the people that you used to be, as well as the one’s you’re holding yourself back from becoming.

Patterns as a body of work is ruthless in its examination of “self” in terms of emotional accountability. This isn’t your typical “self reflection-light,” this is a brazen commitment to integrity on a never-ending journey of self-discovery and, most importantly, creation of self.

Patterns bounces from 80s-influenced-pop reminiscent of HAIM to indie folk ala Jenny Lewis while artfully maintaining consistency. To achieve the matured style on Patterns, Ott employed the help of local Nashville producers Gavin Shea and Chris Gill of HandMade Productions (Luthi, Okey Dokey, Darius Rucker).

Born in Little Rock, AR to a state champion bull rider and a wild child mother, Ott was raised part time on a cattle farm, and part time in the city. The dichotomy of her upbringing is apparent in her sound. The songs range from rocket-soaring electro pop, to stripped down acoustic moments (a David Allen Coe cover even makes an appearance on “Would You Lay With Me”).

The importance of roots and how they shape us is woven throughout her music and visuals. In the prelude to “Toe to Toe,” Ott listens to the story of how her Nanny, Hattie Jo., finally made the decision to leave her alcoholic husband, emphasizing that our patterns of remaining in toxic relationships can sometimes be learned, but so can the power we uncover when we make the difficult decision to leave them behind.