Duotone
Album: Ropes
Label: EEC
Tracks: 12
Website: www.duotonemusic.com

If I had to define Duotone in sculpture, it would have to be The Spirit Of Ecstasy. The simplicity of the lines, the form in movement, a design to convey elegance without a hint of clutter. "Ropes" the second album from Duotone captures that spirit right through to the core.

It's a theme that runs right through the Duotone persona from the sartorial style of their Victorian dress to the last fading percussive bang on the cajon. Everything has its place, its moment and that minimalist approach serves the album well.

Minimalist doesn't mean without passion, in this case it simply means without clutter. I can't remember a single phase of the album where I couldn't a note of a syllable because it was fused with another instrument or voice. There are plenty of layers, but each is clear and sharp.

Barney Morse Brown and James Garret the musicians that are Duotone bring in strings and a choir to be used liberally across "Ropes" and they use them so well. The arrangements are dramatic and and emphatic. You are left in no doubt about the emotions and feelings put into each song as much as the words and music.

It's also a beautifully paced album, it's an album of a roads and country lanes rather than motorways, they journey is as important, if not more important than the destination. An album to take in along the way, to occasionally stop awhile and let the world pass by.

Duotone are an oasis from an accelerating world. Whilst not old fashioned in sound or approach there is a value in their music that is not of the current world and it brings you to a great place to escape to and enjoy. Highly, highly recommended.

Neil King