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Listen up! The Dutchess and The Duke demand your attention
The Seattle duo returns to the scene of their appearance at CMJ and they don’t take kindly to a bunch of audience chitchat.
Photo: Andrew Waits
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The Dutchess and the Duke had a prime time slot at the Sub Pop records CMJ Showcase at the Mercury Lounge in October and made the most of it. The dark, acoustic power ballads delivered by the intertwined voices of Jesse Lortz and Kimberly Morrison are bleakly optimistic, if you will. The dirges of the Velvet Underground and Exile on Main Street-era Stones are a good place to begin describing the sound of this Seattle duo. But it’s not so easy to put them in a box on the shelf. There are also hints of Dead Can Dance in there if you listen for it. As haunting and deliberate as their music is on the two records they’ve released on Sub Pop’s “boutique” label Hardly Art, they are no wallflowers in concert. There is constant banter between the two and they aren’t afraid of offending their audience by reprimanding them if they aren’t paying close enough attention.
This is understandable, considering the intimate nature of the lyrical content and the venues in which they air them out. This is not about complex musical song crafting. It is the stark emotional journey through the shadowy corners of relationships that really must be “listened to” to appreciate. They could be easily drowned out by a boisterous crowd, and the mellow strumming of guitars and spare percussion that accompany the lyrical interplay could be reduced to glorified background music if you’re not following along. After leaving different bands to join up together, Lortz and Morrison found themselves on the road, alone. Lacking proper equipment at the beginning, they were forced to play their first 30 shows unplugged, sometimes sitting on the ground. Now that is chutzpa for a group that is just starting out and lacking a rabid following.
Having supported the likes of Sub Pop label mates, Fleet Foxes, The Dutchess and The Duke are getting serious about staking out their own turf. They have expanded to four members to better flesh out their sound and will be landing back in New York for a couple of gigs, early in the new decade. If you are only familiar with their music from the inclusion of their song “Reservoir Park” on the soundtrack of HBO’s Entourage, then you might be surprised to discover that these guys actually have a keen sense of humor and don’t just drag themselves morosely through this mortal coil. Their stage banter is nearly as entertaining as their music.
They return to the scene of their CMJ appearance when they play the Mercury Lounge January 8 on the Lower East Side after crossing the East River for a show the night before in the basement of Union Hall in Park Slope. Just remember to keep your conversation to a minimum or Lortz and Morrison might just turn the spotlight on you. Consider yourselves warned.
For more information, please visit http://www.mercuryloungenyc.com/.