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Duke Fame
"Regrets" CD
Geeves Records
Genres: college rock, alternative, indie rock
e-mail the band
Aug 12 - 25 2002 |
Regrets'
cover depicts a male toddler making out with a female doll. I'm not
sure what this says about the music, but I'm thinking that it suggests
some sort of Blink 182-esque comedy rock. You know, something
light and fun but devoid of content - a musical Twinkie, per se. Well,
once again, I am wrong. Duke Fame's music is actually
semi-serious melodic rock, with more than a few punk influences.
Songs like "Hunger" and "Most Days" are irresistibly
catchy pop numbers, the latter of which shows a slight Tom Walsh
resemblance. Meanwhile, the title-track and "The Day I Shaved My
Head" are pop-punk-tinged upbeat rockers that would probably
settle pretty well on the mainstream scene. And then, of course,
there's the obligatory love songs - "Thinking of You" and
"Sad But Beautiful", and while both are pleasant, the latter
is the album's closer, and just may be the CD's best track. It
combines rocking, powerful instrumentation with very catchy vocal
melodies to wonderful effect.
While Duke Fame's style is by no means the most original of
all, they do add some innovation to the field with a few of their more
inspired tracks. While they lean closer to the mainstream than they do
to the indie circuit, scenesters may learn to like them simply because
their music is so wonderfully catchy. And not just that, their style feels
cool. This is the type of stuff that actually deserves to be on the
mainstream, because of both its quality and its workmanship.
Considering Duke Fame named themselves after the band that Spinal
Tap called "total no-talent sod", they've done well.
Nice.
80%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
42 min 10 sec; 12 tracks; distributed by the
band;
released 2002] |
