Duran Duran’s new single, the title track from the Mark Ronson produced All You Need Is Now, is its most confident and aggressively catchy song in too long to remember. Nine tracks from the record were released exclusively on iTunes back on December 21, while the physical album will be out in late March on the band’s own Tape Modern label. So, Duran Duran is on an indie now. A band that has sold more than 70 million albums. Anyway, despite the unprecedented teen mania this band experienced in the 80’s, the past few decades have been patchy at best, as it strived to avoid being a nostalgia act by continuing to press forward musically, whether the fans went with the artistic tangents or not. Well, with Mark Ronson is tow, Duran Duran has made a record that covers both bases. It sounds intrinsically like classic Duran Duran, while keeping its feet firmly planted in futuristic pop, as sleek and slick as anything out there. Ronson has done a brilliant job of playing to the band’s strengths: melody, synths, and polyrhythmic dance-rock. The chorus of this single evokes instant flashbacks to the sunny pop of Rio, and vocalist Simon Le Bon has never sounded better. With high profile performances lined up at this year’s Coachella and an enormous stadium tour of Europe, Duran Duran might be able to cash in on some long-overdue momentum.
1 response so far ↓
1 a.mckinley // Feb 23, 2011 at 11:34 am
love it! I have been a fan of dd since plant earth video. Came out in the early 80’s, can’t wait to see them on tour. Hope the come to the Chicago area.