It’s fair to say that Dare Dukes doesn’t exactly fit the stereotypical look for a musician but frankly, we’d rather listen to this banjo wielding, accountant-looking guy than most of the homogeneous, cookie cutter pop stars out there right now. Dukes’ blend of wry, observational humour and poetry reminds us in part of John Grant and his sublime album, The Queen of Denmark. But while Grant’s focus was more internal, more autobiographical, Dukes’ head is up and he is looking out, his attention on the “the weirdness, the anomalies, the resistance” of the American suburbs. These eccentricities may be ripe for lampooning but Dukes treats his subjects with affection; jauntily bouncing along in celebration or shuffling, dejected, as appropriate.
Along with various members of Modern Skirts, of Montreal, and TV On The Radio (all of whom feature on Thugs And China Dolls) Dukes has cultivated an amiable little orchestral folk record that is very easy on the ear.
Thugs And China Dolls is out now on Mazarine Records and can be bought either digitally or on CD via the Dare Dukes bandcamp site.
[...] week we spoke briefly about the rather lovely Dare Dukes latest release, Thugs and China Dolls. We say briefly because frankly, we should have spent a little more time talking about just how [...]
This guy looks like every stereotype of a music teacher in the 70s if ever i saw one, but he makes a nice tune