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Hard Hitting Softies At Heart

Blasting out of the starting blocks with a wall of thumping drum beats and body shattering guitars riffs that viciously vibrate with a blaze of distortion, Duels latest release ‘Regeneration’ pummels you into the ground before picking you up and dusting you off to do it all again. Viciously contagious and melded together with an onslaught of sugar coated vocal harmonies of keyboardist Katherine that mingle into the background, ‘Regeneration’ sees the Leeds band upping the aggression, turning the guitars up and bulldozing everything in their path with annihilating infectious drum beats that go hand in hand with the fuzzed out distortion to truly elevate the dark vibe oozing from every inch of the track. But ‘Regeneration’ isn’t done with us just yet. Throw in a gentle lull in the track, briefly showing the band’s softer side before the lines are drawn once more and battle commences again, joltingly scaring you into submission. Like the Kings Of Leon getting drunk with The Raconteurs before running off to corrupt and lead astray Arcade Fire; sublimely seductive with just a touch of threatening darkness to make you wary.

As if to show they do have a gentle side, b side ‘When The Sea Comes’ finds Duels in an entirely different area as a mournful piano gently accompanies lead singer Jon’s melancholic voice as the woeful track winds heart wrenchingly along, even managing to acquire some rain drops dripping in the back ground to really add to the sense of hopelessness; heartache summed up to perfection.

From the rough aggressive rock that takes you by the throat and slams you to the floor to the soft heart felt number that tries to soothe away the pain, Duels punch you in the face and then tenderly make you see why they are a band to welcome into your world. Best grab that white flag while you still can.