Duels - The Barbarians Move In

 

Duels have grown up. Those expecting the kind of Automatic-like novelty indie pop that was so prevalent on their 2005 debut Bright Lights and What I Should Have Learned may be sorely disappointed, but they shouldn’t be. The Barbarians Move In is a dark, sordid, dramatic album that is nothing short of epic.

As the title suggests, Duels have made an album of intoxicating darkness. Gone are the jaunty singalongs of their first album, replaced with primitive chants, cascading pianos and tribal drums. Nowhere is this more evident than with opening track The Furies. Beginning almost identically to Arcade Fire’s Neighbourhood Three (Power Out), the song soon becomes an ominous anthem with lyrics such as we will find you, and we shall show no mercy made even more menacing by the solitary plucked string guitar in the verses, the ponderous drum beats, and oppressive background shouts. It is a perfect opening number, both dramatic and operatic and it is to their immense credit that Duels never drop the pace set by this opus.

Sleeping Giants, a sexy, sordid track that builds to a furious crescendo, is every bit as aggressive as The Furies. Never have that staple of pop lyrics, do do do, sounded quite so threatening. Vocally the album is fantastic. The combination of singer John Faulger’s schizophrenic vocals – one minute soft, the next minute snarling – and choral backing harmonies makes for a sophisticated listen. When Faulger sings who put that smile on your face in Wolvesland you can almost tell it is through gritted teeth. The manic laugh provided as the song fades out adds to a pretty disturbed feeling, yet on following track The Wild Hunt the vocals are so whispered they are almost inaudible.

Duels excel in dark and twisted ballads, such as The Wild Hunt, The Healing and The First Time/The Last Time. The Healing begins as a simple piano song with a beautiful melody, gradually becoming hypnotic with its siren-like backing vocals, rapturous drums and sweeping violins, building to a rapturous climax. Title track The Barbarians Move In is the sound of someone’s heart breaking.

However, Duels have not abandoned the sound they developed through their first album completely. There are still pop orientated tracks here, you just have to listen closely. This Years Man is as close as Duels come to a break from the angst that prevails the rest of The Barbarians Move In. The lighter guitar and lolloping drums at the beginning of the track provide light relief, yet soon the vocal chant from The Furies makes a return, and the song becomes darker and angrier, climaxing in a furious guitar solo.

Perimeter Fence is Duels doing an acoustic piano ballad, yet the thunderous drums and biting lyrics (Nothing ever changed did it/Your mother got her teeth fixed/But still she said the same things) tie it stubbornly to the rest of the album.

Regeneration, by far not the album’s best moment, perhaps most successfully ties the more poppy aspects of Duels’ debut with the more atmospheric moments of Barbarians, making it the perfect first single (and it is - Ed). While the choral chants are here again they sound less primitive, and during the choruses, almost angelic, making them perfect foil for Faulger’s scratchy vocals. The song also boasts sizzling guitars, heavy drum beats and that familiar rousing climax.

Duels have produced a compelling album full of glorious sounds. It is a testament to their ambition that they haven’t chosen to make an album that follows their previous footsteps. A risky gamble, but one that has paid off.

Brilliant from start to finish.

8/10

Laura Rodwell

Get The Barbarians Move In from Play.com or iTunes

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