The Duel
The Duel (self-released)
Very much a record for unreconstructed punk rockers, especially fans of Siouxsie and company. Is this a bad thing? Well, there’s a fetish going for paleopunk at the moment that’s hard to deny or despise, but it does somewhat cut against the sense of adventure that the first wave of punk embodied.
Not to mention the fact that there’s still a perfectly good Siouxsie Sioux making Siouxsie-style music. Beyond aesthetics though, it remains a mixed picture for The Duel. When originality isn’t your strong suit, having a song called ‘Crazy Train’ open your record is a tricky prospect – and no, it’s not a cover. ‘Singin’ and Dancin’’ is very old school but has a retro charm that it’s hard to deny
The surprise for me was the sense of melody that quite often broke through the reverb clouds. ‘New Dream’, again, not the most adventurous title known to humankind, at least provides a Blondie-referencing riff to keep you listening. On a sixteen track punk album, there are going to be a few question marks and The Duel has about as many as The Riddler’s costume. I can’t say there was as much as I had somehow found myself hoping there would be in ‘Troubled England’ and ‘Yooth’ is probably as bad as its title suggests.
Still, perhaps I’m feeling charitable in the new year, or I’m just a sucker for sweetly acidic songs sung by utterly gorgeous punk rock girls, whatever the case, I’d expected a rough time from The Duel, but I came out of it feeling strangely like it was a minor achievement. Also, track by track, even the duds, you know they’re going to be pretty inflammable live, so why not smile?
Will Kherbek
