The barbarians move in mysterious waysThis is a brilliant, brilliant record. That such an accomplished, diverse and different record could come from a band that many had pigeonholed as post-britpop throwbacks is pretty staggering in itself. DUELS' first record, 'The Bright Lights & What I Should Have Learned' was shiny and scary and altogether pretty great, but nothing quite prepares you for the tribal howling of 'The Barbarians Move In'.
The chanting and whistling wind of 'The Furies', the glam-stomp of 'Regeneration', the distorted hymn 'The Wild Hunt', the heart shattering 'The First Time / The Last Time' and the record's funereal title track; not a single track approaches a misfire. Crashing percussion, wiry vocals and obnoxious guitars are recurring motifs here; it sounds messy and scarily focussed all at once. The prevailing mood is being boxed in, a sinister, bubbling beligerence waiting to kick off and break some backs.
And all of this without once getting pretentious; this is a pop record. An unhinged, evil, self-produced one, but a record with choruses and tunes and other such angelic features keeping it anchored. Really, this is a record to buy now, listen to twenty times and change your name to DUELS. If that sounds fanboyish, then so be it. DUELS deserve your passionate, squalid love.
The chanting and whistling wind of 'The Furies', the glam-stomp of 'Regeneration', the distorted hymn 'The Wild Hunt', the heart shattering 'The First Time / The Last Time' and the record's funereal title track; not a single track approaches a misfire. Crashing percussion, wiry vocals and obnoxious guitars are recurring motifs here; it sounds messy and scarily focussed all at once. The prevailing mood is being boxed in, a sinister, bubbling beligerence waiting to kick off and break some backs.
And all of this without once getting pretentious; this is a pop record. An unhinged, evil, self-produced one, but a record with choruses and tunes and other such angelic features keeping it anchored. Really, this is a record to buy now, listen to twenty times and change your name to DUELS. If that sounds fanboyish, then so be it. DUELS deserve your passionate, squalid love.
0 comments:
Post a Comment