DURAN DURAN came out with yet another album. I’ll be honest with you, I hadn’t even payed attention to them since the early 2000’s. And even then, it was in quick passing, because I was imprinted with their “ever so 80’s” vibe. Like most 30 something, I grew up on Duran Duran (among other classics of course). I used to record their songs on cassettes straight out of the radio on my little portable yellow boombox! My wall was plastered from top to bottom in posters and various magazine cuttings, I had t-shirts with their faces on it, and I used to be so in luuuuv with the drummer, Roger Taylor… That’s the 80’s for ya. Again, I’ll be honest and say that I got curious when I saw them on the list of albums we are sent to review. Then, I glanced at their photo, and was surprised at the way they all looked well. Except I was disappointed it wasn’t the same drummer. Oh wait, but it is. Whoops. So, as I was saying, they all look well… *swallowing my treacherous guilt*. I decided I would listen to this album while being hyperactive and cleaning absolutely everything in my house, like a meth junky. That was appropriate! Full of guests such as Janelle Monae on Pressure Off, John Frusciante on Butterfly Girl, Kiesza on Last Night in the City and other big and surprising names (Lindsay Lohan??), the album was perfect to clean to. Maybe because Nile Rodgers and Mark Ronson helped. It’s definitely got the nightclub/Clean Daft Punk dance-y atmosphere. You know, the one you don’t care what the lyrics say while a low boom boom throbs your chest? That one. Then again, it might be that Simon LeBon’s voice hasn’t changed and keeps it all together. Or maybe that the synthpop sound is still alive and well, and the arrangements are consistent with the Duran Duran sound. Maybe it’s both. With that in mind, it totally works. It’s a delicate thing to navigate. Keeping that Rio sound while updating to a modernized version isn’t a small step. And all in all, this album is upbeat, the vibe is theirs, his voice keeps it from falling in a desperate pit, and the production is serious quality. I’m not going to put it on my rotation, but a random track on a road trip or to clean to? Why not? Cheers for keeping the vibe going! DURAN DURAN Paper Gods (Warner, 2015) -Genre: SynthPop Follow them on Facebook Watch their videos on YouTube Réagissez à cet article / Comment this article commentaires / comments
