The Dutchess & The Duke – Sunset/Sunrise « New music, features, reviews, news and free mp3s

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The Dutchess & The Duke

Sunset/Sunrise

[Hardly Art]

7/10

Using the movement of the sun as a metaphor for life and death most certainly isn’t a novel approach, but Seattle duo The Dutchess & The Duke have decided that it is the one that works best for telling their slightly whimsical, melancholic stories. Having moved on from the upbeat country-folk of their first album, Jesse Lortz and Kimberley Morrison are now looking at the bigger picture, both lyrically and musically, and it works, despite the odd moment of derivative 60’s pastiche. The lovely, slender paced ‘Hands’ adds a subtle organ line, while ‘Never Had A Chance’ is Slow Club with a wistful, whiskey-fuelled kick. The piano-led closer ‘The River’ looks back at times gone by and picks up on the life/death theme one last time, and too their credit, The Dutchess & The Duke largely manage to steer clear of sounding melodramatic or pompous.