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The Devils: Dark Circles

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: Tape Modern
Released: 2002.06.15
Time:
 56:12
Category: Electronic
Producer(s): Andy Strange, Nick Rhodes, Stephen Duffy
Rating: *****..... (5/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.duranduran.com
Appears with: Duran Duran
Purchase date: 2012
Price in €: 1,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Memory Palaces - 2:27
[2] Big Store - 5:50
[3] Dark Circles - 3:09
[4] Signals In Smoke - 4:03
[5] Come Alive - 4:10
[6] Hawks Do Not Share - 4:51
[7] Newhaven-Dieppe - 3:36
[8] World Exclusive - 3:28
[9] Aztec Moon - 4:26
[10] Lost Decade - 4:09
[11] Barbarellas - 4:49
[12] The Tinsel Ritual - 3:14

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Nick Rhodes - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Producer
Stephen Duffy - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Producer
Mark Tinley - Additional Programming, Amorphic Resonances

Ben Georgiades - Drums, Loops & Assistance
Sally Boyden - Vocals on [2,3,8,10,11]
Evie - Vocals on [2,3,8]

Andy Strange  - Engineer, Producer
Adam Noble - Assistant Engineer
Tony Cousins  - Mastering
Mark Tinley - Programming & Amorphic Resonance
Andrew Day - Art & Design
Retts Wood - Photography
Paola Recabarren - Make Up

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


2002 CD Tape Modern TPCD001

Duran Duran Members Nick Rhodes (Keyboards and Tapes) and Vocalist Stephen Duffy (Lilac Time) Team Up to Create the Album of their Dreams. "Dark Circle" is a New Wave, Electronic Record that Combines the Major Cutting-edge Artists from the 70's (Bowie, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop and Talking Heads). The Influences Might have Been from the 70's, but this is a Record from the New Millennium Incorporating Brilliant Songwriting and the Urgency to Push Pop Music One Step Further.

The band played live only two times, in London (19 November 2002), and Cologne (17 February 2003), before both members returned to their normal careers. In early June 2008, Rhodes and Duffy were interviewed by the music journalist Pete Paphides for BBC Radio 4, and relived the whole Dark Circles experience. Duffy also publicly stated through his website that a Devils DVD could be released later.



Nick Rhodes verschwand nach dem Niedergang der New-Wave-Popper-Band Duran Duran sang- und klanglos, Stephen Duffy war Anfang der 80er schon vor deren großem Erfolg ausgestiegen. Als Duo The Devils kehren sie nun mit der mehr als überraschenden CD Dark Circles zurück. Ganz gegen den Strom wird hier nicht geglätteter 80er-Retro geboten, sondern der anarchische Ursprung von New Wave und New Romantics, elektronischer Minimalismus mit Powerpop-Attitüde frohsinnig bis zum Abwinken. Mit altem Analog-Gerümpel und der eher unprofessionellen Einstellung, schnell ein bisschen Spaß zu haben, gelang den beiden mit genialen Chorsängerinnen ein spontanes, authentisches Album, ein Rohdiamant.

Das klingt tatsächlich, als hätte man altes Studiomaterial vor der Vermarktung einer Welle gefunden, nach Human League, Wire und Gary Numan, nach einer Zeitreise als Verjüngungskur. Beim Zusammenspiel von auf der Stelle tretenden Endlos-Akkorden, geizigen Schlagzeug-Rhythmen und allerlei Orbit-Gepiepse entstehen da tanzbare Popohrwürmer, mal funky wie "Come Alive", mal folky wie "Newhaven-Dieppe" oder die Maschinen-Melancholie zur Pop-Poesie von "Barbarellas". "Big Store", eine völlig hedonistische und antizyklische Shopping-Hymne in diesen tristen Sparmaßnahmen-Tagen, könnte glatt zum Hit avancieren. The Devils zelebrieren ihre Jugendzeit so unbeschwert, als würde das nächste Blind Date in unmöglichen Klamotten anstehen.

Ingeborg Schober - Amazon.de



Twenty-five years after forming Duran Duran together in art school, Stephen Duffy and Nick Rhodes have collaborated as The Devils to record Dark Circles, a mish-mash of techno-pop, new romantic and dance music. The Duran influences are definitely there and although Duffy has left his folk hat with the Lilac Time, the lyrics are distinctly his. From the camped-up cabaret of "Big Store" (a song obviously written to get ready to shop to); via the ambient "Signals in Smoke"; to the toe-tapping pop of "Come Alive", the first half of the album does a decent job keeping your attention. The second half starts off with the strange, but intriguing "Hawks Do Not Share", before continuing with the dance-pop theme, "World Exclusive" which even has a few "sha la la, la la, woo hoos!" - a sure mark of classic pop. Dark Circles is a fine record, the only question is, what took them so long?

Jamie Clark - Amazon.co.uk



More than 20 years after Stephen Duffy departed Duran Duran, he reunites here with Duran mainstay Nick Rhodes to create an album's worth of wonderful, bubbly pop songs. From its spooky robotic opener, "Memory Palaces," with its brilliant stabs of icy synth patterns, to the moody closing instrumental, Dark Circles never falters. It's as if Rhodes and Duffy were destined to create this immeasurably fun ode to their past and their separate paths. The Devils don't once mimic Duran Duran, instead mining fresh terrain where folk intonation meets dancefloor electronics. The only moment where one even considers Duran Duran is "Barbarellas," where Duffy sings autobiographical words about the duo's first band and the clubs and worlds they both haunted. It's this kind of autobiographical bent, just like in his songwriting with the Lilac Time, that shows Duffy always at the forefront of relevance. Where other songwriters lose the plot with fame and fortune (no, this isn't a reference to Simon Lebon), Duffy's lyrics remain consistently engrossing over the years. Nick Rhodes deserves just as much credit. Wielding new technology as well as old analog synths, applying vocoders where necessary, layering in diva background vocals, injecting the songs with energetic guitars, and generally just crafting perfect songs respectful of the past yet entirely forward-thinking, Rhodes works like a master studio wizard. One second, a Joy Division influence is apparent, the next, it's Vangelis, but the end result is decidedly original. The highlights are many, but "Newhaven-Dieppe" and "Barbarellas" shine brightest, the former sounding like the Lilac Time given a Technicolor electronic transfusion. Dark Circles is a joyous album that should please any fan of '80s synth pop, all Lilac Time fans, and anyone who appreciates moody electronic music with a thundering pop kick.

AllMusic.com
 

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