Dukes of Windsor - Minus

Thu 2nd Oct, 2008 in Music Reviews

If you like your dance music with a bit more substance, Minus may just be the album you’ve been longing for. Dukes of Windsor take you into a world of glam pop-rock with – œ80s-style synths and just enough driving guitar to keep the rock-obsessed listeners happy.

It’s A War is the first single off the album and it certainly lives up to its name, with a commanding military type beat laced with Jack Weaving’s signature falsetto that has an almost robotic precision to it. I was going to follow that statement by saying that this track will get people moving, but it seemed a tad obvious. After all these are the guys who, along with TV Rock, kept the party people happy with the remixed version of their hit The Others.

On the whole Minus has a nice flow to it without veering into same-same territory, which, as many bands have discovered, is no easy feat. Although most tracks follow the electro beat, they each have added individual elements that keep the album from sounding too much like one 40-minute song.

In The Wild has chorus vocals that seem to channel Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett, while Land of Strangers sees this originality taken to the next level. The dance beat is set aside, allowing room for a more subdued sound complete with breathy vocals and a seductive bassline. Tracks like Refuse not only give listeners something to dance to but also something to think about. Who hasn’t had contemplated the age-old question “Why do people dance like fire?” at least once in their life?

It would have been easy for Dukes of Windsor to disappear into the hit single black hole that so many bands seem to be drawn into. Fortunately Minus delivers enough dancefloor anthems to keep them cemented in the electro rock scene. If you are not a fan, I suggest you stay indoors for the next few months, because chances are you will be hearing a lot more of these guys. Whether you like it or not.

Minus is out now through Universal Music Australia.