FILTHY DUKES NONSENSE IN THE DARK ALBUM FICTION, POLYDOR, COOPERATIVE, UNIVERSAL RELEASE: MARCH 16, 2008 REVIEW: MARCH 9, 2009

Filthy Dukes started as a DJ duo running clubs all over Europe (London, Barcelona and Paris!), and they have also done some remixes for various indie and electro acts. After finding a producer they turned into a band, mixing synthpop with dance music, all with a touch of British indie. Using a bunch of analogue synthesizers and a mixing desk used by Conny Plank this London group has now recorded their first album.

The album constantly changes, ranging from electropop that could move any crowd to smooth electro ballads, stopping at dirty minimalistic rhythms somewhere on the way. They even have included a cover of “Absolute Body Control” by DAF which is done with a nice personal touch. Usually I tend to dislike ballads, but tracks like “Don’t Fall Softly” and “Poison the Ivy” are perfect examples on how it should be done. They use layers of minimalistic sounds that create dreamy landscapes with simple, but working, vocals and get a really nice result.

When they take the step to the dance floor using the same formula it works just as well, but they really shouldn’t use the hip hop style vocals like on “Tupac Robot Club Rock” because it just gets too much. The strength of this band is their ability to create something big with small components, and it’s a really thin line to balance on and here they fall off I’m afraid. But apart from that this is an album full with really strong songs.

At first I took this for another dance project but after listening through the album I’m really impressed by their width in music styles while maintaining a voice of their own.

TOBIAS ELIASSON