Ducks Ltd.
Harm's Way
***and1/2 out of *****
The newest album from Ducks Ltd., titled Harm's Way, is a collection of jangling guitar and emo laced pop rock that finds the Toronto duo of Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis both dreaming and wallowing at the same time.
That juxtaposition between bright and dreary plays out over and over in these brief tunes as the group edges towards each side of the spectrum. Opener "Hollowed Out" is catchy with new wave mixed with jangling guitars and restrained 'ooh and aah's' while "Cathedral City" amps up the synths.
Those synths return in Manchester like fashion with layers of guitars during "A Girl, Running" while "On The Way To The Rave" switches gears into pop punk territory using crackling feedback. The majority of the songs on the album fall into the light indie rock style with the warbling acoustic shaking of "Train Full of Gasoline", the hip swaying pop augmented by weepy guitars of "Deleted Scenes" and the best of the bunch "The Main Thing" which uses hyper drums and cymbal hits to buzz like a cicada with vibrant energy.
The quick record wraps with the most produced effort as album closer "Heavy Bag" incorporates a dreamy fuzz tone with ominous tempo downshifts, keys, synths and strings going a bit overboard but in fashion that connects it to the rest of the album as a whole.
Overall, Duck's Ltd. find themselves dancing between doomy new wave and bright upbeat power pop throughout the successful Harm's Way.
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ReplyDeleteL'album Harm's Way de Ducks Ltd. offre un mélange captivant entre la new wave sombre et le pop rock énergique, créant une dualité entre lumière et obscurité. Les chansons oscillent entre mélodies joyeuses et atmosphères plus pesantes, comme une danse entre deux mondes. Tout comme on trace les contours d'un dessin dinosaure, l'album équilibre subtilement des éléments contrastés, résultant en une œuvre harmonieuse malgré ses variations de tons.