The Duhks
The Duhks
(Sugar Hill)
First Appeared in The Music Box, February 2005, Volume 12, #2
Written by John Metzger
The Duhks’ self-titled debut may be slightly bloated, and hence a little
uneven, but the band’s instrumental virtuosity is so strong that it’s certain to
make a huge splash on this summer’s folk and bluegrass circuit. With an approach
that fits somewhere between Ollabelle and the Indigo Girls and is shaded by the
likes of Nickel Creek and Béla Fleck, it’s not surprising that within the span
of 60 minutes, the group manages to cut a wide swath through music history, one
that incorporates everything from Irish reels to traditional gospel-blues
concoctions while also touching upon the contemporary folk of The Mammals and
the reggae-tinted pop of Sting. Propelled by the multi-cultural percussion of
Scott "Señor" Senior, much of the material crackles with surprising immediacy as
fiddle, guitar, and banjo tumble and twirl with hypnotically splendiferous
results. In particular, a pair of spirituals (Death Came a Knockin’ and
True Religion) are given a life-affirming resonance by the underlying
Latin-imbued rhythms, while the Celtic medley dubbed Gene’s Machine is
underscored by a subtle Eastern groove. Elsewhere, the band, led by Jessica
Havey’s powerhouse vocals, perfectly captures the emotional depth within Ruth
Ungar’s Blue; Mists of Down Below/Meghan Hayden’s careens around
its prog-rock corners with all the bluegrass-hued textures of ’70s-era Kansas;
and The Wagoner’s Lad glides effortlessly over its gentle folk
arrangement as Tania Elizabeth delivers its lyrics with a sadly optimistic
yearning. Yet, for all of The Duhks’ adventurous enthusiasm, the collective
can’t save a coarse and cloying cover of Leonard Cohen’s Everybody Knows
or drab and dull renditions of Paul Brady’s You and I and British
songwriter Jez Lowe’s Dover, Delaware. Despite these missteps, however,
the bulk of The Duhks’ eponymous outing is frequently stirring and full of
enough inspiration that the set is transformed into a rather promising and
magnetic debut. 
Of Further Interest...
Uncle Earl - Waterloo, Tennessee
The Duhks is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005 The Music Box