Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK outfit Dunes, John Davies (guitar/vocals); Ade Huggins (bass/vocals) and Nikky Watson (drums) have been around for a while now but for reasons unknown to us, and probably to them, the band have not quite achieved the attention internationally that they and their music deserve, which is strange because the grooves they create together are tailor-made for fans of the present days global underground scene. Hopefully this state of affairs will be resolved with the release of the bands third full length album "Land of the Blind" a release that sees the mighty Ripple Music helping them fight their corner.
It has to be said there is a marked difference in the quality and substance of the music contained on "Land of the Blind" compared to the bands previous output, the desert rock aspects of their sound on this release are grittier, the proggier passages, though few, are a little more intricate and thought out and the grunge/alt,rock elements, that have always been a part of their sound, are here quirkier and a touch more off-centred. Opening number "Cactus" is the perfect example of how much Dunes music has evolved in a relatively short space of time, the songs dark droning heavily pedal effected opening bars have an almost Colour Haze-ish vibe about them while the parts of the song that serve as the backdrop for the songs smoothly delivered verses boast an almost tribalistic feel. There are a ton of songs out there that evoke images of desert landscapes in the minds eye but none in quite the same way this one does, which is quite a feat for a band from the un-desert like North -East of England. Next track "Tides" is a much more "traditional" desert rock type tome with chunky fuzzy riffage and punchy rhythms framing moments of less abrasive grooviness over which easy on the ear, hook laden vocal melodies are layered. "One Eyed Dog" follows and is another up-tempo and fuzzy desert/stoner like romp but this time a little more jagged and strident. "Northern Scar" finds Dunes back in Colour Haze territory, its laid back and languid riffs and restrained rhythms, over which hazy clean vocals hold sway, are routinely interrupted by swells of a heavier dynamic that in the songs latter stages underscore narration delivered in a distinctive North-East of England brogue. There is a touch of Franz Ferdinand like post-punk swagger about next song "Riding the Low" albeit drenched in considerable amounts of desert/stoner fuzziness while "How Real is Real" is what a coming together of Queens of the Stone Age and Truckfighters might have sounded like had they had a night out on Newcastle Brown Ale. "Voodoo", featuring Ryan Garney of High Desert Queen on guest vocals, kicks off with a riff Deep Purple's Ritchie Blackmore would have been proud of but then settles down into a grungy loud/quiet /loud pattern when the vocals enter, the song continuing in this vein until its close. "Fields of Grey" utilizes quirky circular riffage and thunderous percussion to bookcase passages where the only thing heard are a voice and a drum pattern before the band sign off with "Riding the Slow" an aptly named slow burning and atmospheric ride into the sunset.
Colour Haze like psychedelics and crunchy desert rock riffage combined with brief passages of prog-like complexity and post-punk(ish) textures and colours are the parts of the whole that is Dunes "Land of the Blind", an album that finds the band maybe not so much at the peak of their powers but certainly getting damn close to reaching that peak.
Check it out ....
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