For some reason I was really taken by
She's the Dutchess, He's the Duke, the first of two albums from this Pacific northwest pair. The "duke" sings lead over hard-folk strumming, with the "dutchess" doing backing vocals, and that's about it. He has a real early-Stones affect to his voice, and the whole exercise feels pretty retro -- but with really, really solid songwriting. This single continues the feel, starting with 'Never Had a Chance' which is good, set up over a twangy guitar part accompanied by a tambourine or some other such percussion. But it's the b-side, 'Scorpio', that kills. It's a sad, simple look back at lost love, with a dual-vocal chorus of 'I'm a long, long way from you / my heart....' that's incredible familiar, derivative even, yet un-pinpointable. The Duke truly dominates this band - his vocals are double-tracked even - but as soon as this song ends, I start it over. I'm fairly certain that this pair has split up and he's gone on to make records as Case Studies, who also made a pretty good album. On pretty green vinyl, too. Let the early 60s live on forever.
The way 'Like a Deer in the Headlights' erupts out of the vinyl is explosive. It's somehow bigger and MORE explosive than anything else heard by Cheveu to-date; I can't explain why, though better production might have something to do with it. The sung title is a melodic hook answered by intensifying guitar licks, and it's a pretty catchy little moment. The verses explode in Olivier's usual vehement babble, and then there's a funk-driven bridge that comes out of nowhere. B-side 'C'est ça l'amour' is some rare French-language material, co-written with a certain Sophie so one suspects that if I understood French, this would be something sweet and personal. It's not as much of a new direction as 'Like a Deer' but when you do something well, why stop?
