Duhks
(Sugar Hill Records)
The Duhks are just so goddamned good. They have been since their 2003 debut, Your Daughters And Your Sons, and they have been flirting with perfection with ever since. On their fourth studio album lead singer Sarah Dugas steps in to fill what fans and possibly the band had to believe were the un-fillable musical shoes of Jessee Havey who flew the coop in 2007. There just aren't that many singers out there who can match Havey's warm, sultry, soulful voice and her ability to apply it in so many different ways. Enter Dugas - exit worry.
Opening with the one-two punch of "Mighty Storm", a churning minor key narrative of early 20th century Texas tragedy and slamming right into the title cut they make a definite mission statement; the Duhks came to play but not to play around. By a few cuts in - "Toujours Vouloir" - a listener has only two options; one of them is to go blind. The album's production is almost eerie; the stark landscape of their native northwestern Canada a presence in itself. The feeling of being in their world - and happily so - never let's up.
The Duhks have the ability to amalgamate so many forms - North American, Irish, French-Canadian and Métis folk, zydeco, samba, and a touch of blues and a lot of soul - without losing the musical integrity of any and make it all make wonderfully ear-pleasing sense. They did it with Havey (and percussionist Scott Senior who was replaced by Dugas' brother Christian) and they do it equally well with Dugas. There are moments, no, the whole of Fast Paced World is flat-out bewitching. The Duhks are just so goddamned good.
Standout Tracks: "Toujours Vouloir", "You Don't See It" RICK ALLEN
