Duran Duran – DANSE MACABRE (2023)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 50:07 minutes | 1,06 GB | Genre: Pop Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © BMG Rights Management (US) LLC
Duran Duran return with ‘Danse Macabre’, a 13 song collection featuring three brand new songs, haunting covers of songs by artists such as Billie Eilish, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones and The Specials, and new versions of Duran Duran classics from their own catalog. There is a rare rework B-side of fan favourite track ‘Secret Oktober 31st’. Guest artists include producer, guitarist and composer Nile Rodgers, Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin and former band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo. Exquisitely packaged featuring images adapted from a collection of authentic vintage séance photos that band member Nick Rhodes sourced at auction.
On Halloween night 2022, Duran Duran donned a variety of horror movie-esque costumes and performed a very special concert in Las Vegas. The setlist highlighted a selection of their spookiest songs—”Hungry Like the Wolf,” “Union of the Snake” and “Shadows on Your Side”—and a bevy of darker covers. From that night sprang the hair-raising studio album Danse Macabre, a delightfully frightful celebration of the band’s influences and history encompassing cover songs, choice remakes, and three originals.
Most notably, Danse Macabre includes contributions from former guitarists Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo as well as long-time collaborator Nile Rodgers. One of the album’s highlights, the slick disco-funk throwback “Black Moonlight,” even features guitar from both Taylor and Rodgers; the collision of their individual styles crackles like dynamite. Taylor also contributes majestic guitar to two other remakes of Duran originals: a doom-laden update of 1981’s “Nightboat” and a gorgeous, languid version of the beloved “Union of the Snake” b-side “Secret Oktober.” The latter, now called “Secret Oktober 31st,” weaves ominous sound effects (an uneasy music box, creepy chimes) into the song’s signature haunting vocals and gouging bass; the end result sounds like something beamed straight out of a cobweb-covered haunted mansion. Cuccurullo, meanwhile, adds Big Thing-esque guitar stabs on the title track and soul-funk riffing on “Love Voudou,” the latter a slinky, string-augmented remake of 1993’s “Love Voodoo.”
Covers-wise, Danse Macabre also sounds inspired, led by a propulsive take on Siouxsie and the Banshees’ gothic howl “Spellbound” (also a highlight of the Vegas concert), a pulsating rendition of Cerrone’s electro-disco explosion “Supernature,” and a groovy version of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” featuring Måneskin bassist Victoria De Angelis. However, Danse Macabre’s best cover is an adventurous interpretation of Billie Eilish’s “Bury a Friend.” Bolstered by darkwave synth swerves, eerie background vocals and an arrangement that amplifies the broken-marionette vibe of Eilish’s original, the song is playful and macabre in equal measures.
The only tune that doesn’t quite work is an uneven take on the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” that feels tossed-off and unrehearsed. Make no mistake, however: Danse Macabre isn’t a sequel to Duran Duran’s (unfairly maligned) 1995 covers album Thank You, but a compelling collection with its own singular appeal. Just listen to the album-closing original “Confession in the Afterlife,” a wistful ballad shrouded by emotional ghosts that’s deeply affecting. Spine-chilling veneer aside, Danse Macabre is no tricks—and all treats. – Annie Zaleski
Tracklist:
1-1. Duran Duran – NIGHTBOAT (04:23)
1-2. Duran Duran – BLACK MOONLIGHT (03:06)
1-3. Duran Duran – LOVE VOUDOU (04:29)
1-4. Duran Duran – BURY A FRIEND (03:04)
1-5. Duran Duran – SUPERNATURE (03:44)
1-6. Duran Duran – DANSE MACABRE (04:22)
1-7. Duran Duran – SECRET OKTOBER 31ST (04:22)
1-8. Duran Duran – GHOST TOWN (03:00)
1-9. Duran Duran – PAINT IT BLACK (02:38)
1-10. Duran Duran – SUPER LONELY FREAK (04:27)
1-11. Duran Duran – SPELLBOUND (03:27)
1-12. Duran Duran – PSYCHO KILLER (feat. Victoria De Angelis) (04:25)
1-13. Duran Duran – CONFESSION IN THE AFTERLIFE (04:33)
