El Duende - Overcome

Fri 14th Oct, 2005 in Music Reviews

Starting the listening process the other day, I put the disc in and by the third song I was asleep. I guess that was fair enough as it was the evening and I did get in bed to make it more comfortable. But I think that pretty much sums up this record yet it isn’t a negative reflection of this piece of work.

The band’s name, El Duende, is a Spanish word meaning “the dark energy which pervades all the best art and music”.  It’s a presumptuous name I know, but it could be possible for a band to live up to. Just not this band, as the music is not exactly dark or energetic.

El Duende is a supergroup of Sydney bands from the past twenty years. Combining members of Newtown’s Crow, The Cannanes, and others, El Duende is a six-piece, featuring the usual drums, bass, guitar, but also feature two trumpet players, a violinist.  It’s the horns and violin that save this record and perhaps stop it from becoming just another adult contemporary album to buy your balding uncle.

The two trumpet players take over the parts typically played by lead guitarist.  The horns work together and provide an interesting addition to the occasionally monotonous tune.

The songs are very melodic.  But for a record based largely on vocal melody, the vocals are lacking. Singer Daniel Morphett hits all the right notes, but lacks the strength and confidence in his singing that would give his voice character that would make the songs memorable. 

The one highlight though is Wish I Was You, which is almost downright catchy and makes great use of two horns. Messages features a repetitive chorus and a strong violin solo. Dum Dum is one of the weaker songs, taking the melody line as the title: a melody line that is a bit cliché and a bit overly predictable. But for the most part the songs all blend together in the album, which is a strong feature of like songs. 

This is a record I could hear being played in one of those trendy restaurants where you sit on the floor and eat with your hands.  And I imagine it would go over well. Despite my earlier criticisms, this record creates an atmosphere by mixing strong instrumentation, calming melodies, and a set of songs working well together. 

Although it is largely background music, its not bad background music. Just don’t turn it up too loud.