Duologue

Never Get Lost

9
9/10
Joel Frieders | September 9, 2014

My experiences with Duologue are pretty specific. While not in actual situation, but feeling, their delivery is both creeped the Fuck out and desperate as fuuuuuck. I can always remember how I feel when their music is shooting through my head's holes, but I can't always remember names of songs or lyrics. The sensory-related gifts they hath bestowed on me are immeasurable.

Vocally, the feels this fucker flings at us while singing is exhausting, but it's one of those feels where you're appreciative of where it's coming from, even when it's scary how comforting the distress this shit is reminding you of is. Seriously, the misery this shit evokes is cleansing like a muthafucker.

It reminds me of those times in my life where I was headed straight into the fucking fire, the fear, the fight. I didn't have my tail tucked between my legs because I've grown enough to know I need to know what I'm walking into so I'm approaching with more of a humble attentiveness than a cowering and scattered worry. Duologue seem to feed that apprehension perfectly, but they're sort of the meek transforming into the staunch confidence I get when I know I need to keep my big boy pants on.

When someone sings in such a way that you hurt just breathing, it's apparent that the throat spilling up, over and into your ears is telling the truth. I can't escape the feeling that the vocals in Duologue would be lost in some other band because the music crafted around the vocals is just fucking perfect. There's this evil and delicate electronic deliciousness that is equally parts complementary and distracting. There are times where you're pulled towards the music itself and times where the vocals are all you hear, and while some might read that as if they're competing against each other, it's theatrically beautiful when you look at it as if that was their intent. During "All Night Shows" you're nearly forced to cover your ears from the shrill dungeon-sounds of evil, but then the dude starts singing and you're using the hands you just shoved up to your ears to hug yourself and rock back and forth.

There are moments like that all over Never Get Lost.

Duologue have hit me in the throat with every release so far, and while this album took me a bit more time to convince me of its grandeur, I think they're still on their way towards what they will end up sounding like. While I still have no idea where they'll end up, listening to them mature into such a powerful eBROtional force has been a fucking treat.

Just like every other one of their previous releases, there are moments here that punched me in the fucking throat, and I thought it proper to share a few of those with you. So after you've purchased the album and have given it a spin, peep the things that made my ear-penis less paunchy, yet just as adorable.

  • 0:48 and again at 1:24 on "Memex"
  • 1:24 on "Correctress" WHEEEEEEREEEEEEEEE
  • 4:00 on "Forests"
  • 3:10 on "Sibling" and again at 4:18
  • 2:37 on "Drag and Drop"
  • 3:38 on "Departures" until the end

While there are dozens more moments on Never Get Lost that struck me, I'm noticing I need to stop sharing EVERYTHING because a bunch of you assholes unfriended me after I shared the picture of my morning BM that looked like Abe Lincoln's nose.

DON'T TELL ME IT DIDN'T, CAUSE shit TOTALLY DID.

Go buy this.