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Duels - The Barbarians Move In

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by Acquiescence

I avoided this band's debut back in 2005 due to unpleasant comparisons to Kaiser Chief's Employment. But what with all the quiet positivity the latest album has been getting I felt inclined to investigate and...wow, if Duels happened to sound like angular pop before then they certainly don't now, this is industrial-folk with a twisted, brutal core. Sounds evil and I love it, fair play to them for attempting something completely different and succeeding.

Acquiescence | 01 May '08, 21:59 | Send note | Report this | Reply

Its okay

totally disposable though I feel, it feels over produced


Are you listening to the same record?

It sounds ace. The production's one of the best things about it. In what sense do you think it's "disposable"?


In that I listen to it when its on

but then completely forget about it there after and never have the urge to put it back on... so ya know its not bad and has moments where I take a real liking to but then pfft its gone... I dont have any feelings to it.


That's pretty much it

There's more than a little Showbiz-era Matt Bellamy about it, I think, but it's a great unspooling brooding thing. And who'd ever think we'd say that about Duels one day. Next week, Thee Unstrung's dub zydeco explorations.


It's

a beautiful triumph of a record. This Et Al's new stuff is fucking mindblowing too, especially 'Medicine Hammer'.


I never understood

the Kaiser Chiefs comparison in the 1st place. Even the Britpop thing was pushing it with the 1st record, though i guess theres a bit of Suede & Menswear in there. Anyway, they're an absolutely brilliant band, and this record is even better than their very fine first (even if they have all but disowned it, as anyone who saw them at Camden Crawl will testify)