Duran Duran: Future Past (BMG)
Rating: 
Verdict: Wild Boys get up (a little).
Duran Duran was a superstar with hits like Save A Prayer and Girls On Film. They had supermodel girlfriends, wore designer suits, and filmed their videos from luxury yachts. They were utterly absurd even by the New Romantic 1980s standards.
Although the music of the Birmingham band was often overshadowed in their offstage antics they are now being recognized for their artistic legacy.
They have been cited as an influence by Killers singer Brandon Flowers — and superstar DJ Mark Ronson, who produced their 2010 comeback album All You Need Is Now, puts in another cameo on their 15th studio LP.
Future Past is a Duran Duran cocktail. Three parts catchy music; one part experimental art. This song was created by Nick Rhodes, a Blur loanee, and Graham Coxon, a guest guitarist.
The EP was originally intended to be an EP. However, the album became a full-length album after recording began. The band discovered that they had ’25+ strong songs’ which they decided to reduce to 12.
Future Past is a Duran Duran cocktail that combines three parts catchy pop and one part arty experimentation
Although the music of the Birmingham band was often overshadowed in their offstage antics they are now being recognized for their artistic legacy.
Covid later delayed it, but it sounds like the work for a much younger group.
Future Past features Rhodes and the rhythm section of John and Roger Taylor, who are not related to the four-fifths of the group that once competed with Spandau Ballet or Culture Club for chart supremacy. Andy, a guitarist from Andy (again not related), flew the coop with the group in 2006.
Several tracks take them back to 1980s roots. The All Of You rhythm section, Taylor and Taylor, are in their element and the Chic-like grooves are in love with American funk and disco. Le Bon says, “We are music lovers. This is what we’ve learned.”
Anniversary is a more heavy-handed song rhythmically, but it still has a powerful chorus.
Giorgio Moroder, electronic guru, drops by to oversee two high-octane numbers of dance-pop, Beautiful Lies, and Tonight United. Ivorian Doll, East London rapper, is also a guest on Hammerhead.
The quartet’s more bolder instincts are highlighted on the dreamy Give It All up, which was made with Tove Lo, a Swedish hitmaker, and the Ronson-produced Wing. A riotous collaboration is also made with J-pop stars Chai from Nagoya.
Some of the old silliness is also back, with Le Bon singing about ‘the outmodes of the old order” on Tonight United and being eaten by “a hungry Demi God that will not be denied” on Wing.
The band is a majority of 60-year-olds now, so there are some hints of age-appropriate maturity. Duran Duran were once known for setting videos and songs at exotic locations. However, the title track shows that they are more at home in Dorset’s National Trust enclave at Brownsea Island.
Pop’s Wild Boys of the past still know how to have fun but, rather surprising, they are getting older with dignity.
Self Esteem: Prioritize Pleasure (Fiction).
Rating:
Verdict: Celebratory pop
Rebecca Taylor, an ex-member of Slow Club, a Yorkshire indie-folk band, set out to become a hot pop star’. She launched a solo career four year ago.
She settled on Self Esteem as her alias to help her overcome her anxiety. She has since become a musical whirlwind, specializing in big choruses and playground chants.
Prioritise Pleasure was written during the pandemic while Taylor was at home in Sheffield. It addresses difficult topics with unflinching honesty.
She settled on the alias Self-Esteem to help her overcome her anxiety. She has since become a musical whirlwind, specializing in big choruses and playground chants.
Prioritise Pleasure was written in the midst of the pandemic. Taylor was still at home in Sheffield.
It is full of stories about romantic failure and 30-something anxiety, but there is also self-awareness.
I’m Fine is an electronic pop song that taps into stage work she did together with The National Youth Theatre to address fears of women walking home unassisted.
How Can I Help You is a powerful percussive track that looks to Kanye West’s Black Skinhead as a rhythmic inspiration, while also harking back at Taylor’s formative years with a Yorkshire punk group.
The singer’s second album, which was produced by Swedish producer Johan Hugo Karlberg of Afro-pop Fusion duo The Very Best is a powerful statement of intent that is unapologetic.
She states, “I’m just not reinventing a bunch” of wheels. “My goal is to create music that’s cinematic and widescreen.”
This record does exactly that.
Duran Duran play Lytham Festival and BST Hyde Park in July 2022. Self Esteem begins her UK tour at The Fleece in Bristol on Monday.