cwas#13 / cwas#12 / cwas#11 / cwas#9 / cwas#8 / cwas#7
cwas#6 / cwas#4 / all reviews / search

This is the second time I've sat down to write this review. The first time I stopped halfway through, suddenly feeling like I maybe hadn't given 'Duelling Devotions' the chance it deserved to impress. Sure, I'd enjoyed it, twice through in fact, but it failed to make any lasting impression. There was no staying power to it, and whilst it was pleasant enough, just being pleasant isn't enough. So here I am, two more listens later, and regrettably my feelings haven't changed. The influences in there are all good â?? you'll pick up traces of the Pixies (Farmacia), Death Cab For Cutie (Common Denominator), The Get Up Kids (Bad Luck) and Jets To Brazil (pretty much everything else) across the thirteen tracks â?? but the songs have little identity of their own. This is heart-on-sleeve pop that falls into the awkward category of average â?? you'll enjoy it for sure, at least a few times through, but save the receipt just in case.

Mike Diver
CWAS #13 - Autumn 2003

back