
Duels - 'The Barbarians Move In', their second album and one of my best buys of the year. This is quirky stuff, a bit like Elbow crossed with Athlete but a bit rockier. 'The Furies' has a thumping drumbeat, scratchy, jangly guitars and cries of Ay! Ay! with a howling middle eight. 'Regeneration' has child-like vocals in the chorus, then it fades to a whisper, before smashing you over the head. 'The Wild Hunt', is muffled vocals over an eerie soundscape. Is there such a genre as prog-lo-fi? I think Duels may have invented it with 'The First Time/The Last Time'. Buy this album.