Duels - London 93 Feet East - 12/4/07
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
Duels have reinvented themselves so many times since their Sammy USA days in Leeds that they're fast becoming the Madonna's of the indie world. From 'Doorway Of A Dancehall' and 'Potential Futures' to the genius of 'Slow Build' and 'Taxi Song', they've pulled more tricks out of their hat than Paul Daniels but have never quite made an impact in the way their loyal followers, the virtuously titled 'young believers', would like. That is, maybe, until now...
Coming out of their writing isolation this set at Brick Lane's 93 Feet East was the first time to hear what the band had been up to since their festival performances (including a main stage set at T in the Park) last year. Choosing, to the enchantment of a crammed venue, to do pretty much all-new material, the overhauled Duels sound became instantly clear and as a band that had once decided a future based on a Kaiser Chief dream shifted to something closer to Radiohead, Pixies and... oh, to Hell with it... Arcade Fire. Anything they'd done before hastily seemed pointless... with all due respect. A freshly bearded Duels have really shaken things up live as you'll now see both Jim and Jon Vox taking the keyboards on and an extraordinarily significant and rousing Katherine banging the shit out of some drums. A few people have worn weary of the constantly changing sound that this bad eek at every turn but when you see this latest incarnation live you can't help but see that everything they've done to lead them here has been worth it. This is truthfully the best stuff of their career, and with a grander sound has come a dramatically grander live presence. Slightly older tune 'I Mosquito' took on a whole new life, and as Katherine gave a cymbal a ruddy good seeing to with a look on her face like a pissed off mum, it transformed from background b-side to the most vital and impressive song of the set.
The new Duels is forcefully striking and compellingly overwhelming, their catchy tap-a-long exterior has been surgically replaced with an unbelievably unassailable crack of energy-rolling brilliance and their general level of ability has gone through the roof. As a blasting and echoing set fell nothing short of mesmerising, even though the most ardent of young believers only knew three or four songs, their future had once again been realigned. Jon Vox was all over the place; attacking the microphone with an arsenal of lyrics that would make Thom Yorke and Michael Stipe green with envy and the Jim/Jon-Bass stage relationship is renewed by a pantomime presentation of instrument swapping and general raptness.
They've never been short of nice words from the press or public, and at almost every turn have chosen their integrity over a short-lived hype blast, but with the emersion of material this gobsmacking, how long can they remain a purely underground success? Surely a band this amazing deserves, now at least, to be documented as the imperative people to music they are. If you've seen Duels before, even if you saw them a month ago, see them again. If you were one of the people who found their album a tad pop and overproduced... see them again.
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