Dutch Uncles
O Shudder
Memphis Industries
Street: 02.24
Dutch Uncles = Scritti Politti + XTC
 
Dutch Uncles recently pared down from a quintet to a quartet, literally upon the release of this, their fourth album. Marple, England’s own “Fab Four” are quite unique and write instantly memorable songs. Lead singer Duncan Wallis’ androgynous voice is key to the magic and his falsetto—more akin to Green Gartside than say, Antony Hegarty—suits these tunes well. Singles “Decided Knowledge” and “In N Out” highlight their secret strength—quirkiness. Longtime producer Brendan Williams helps guide them through a variety of topics, like pregnancy, sexual dysfunction and divorce to name but three, while the psych-folk trio extraordinaire Stealing Sheep’s appearance enhances the already buoyant “Be Right Back.” Only time will tell if guitarist Daniel "Sped" Spedding’s departure helps or hurts them (hopefully it is more Bernard Butler/Suede than Peter Gabriel/Genesis) but for now they seem decidedly on the verge of making it big, and why spoil that? –Dean O Hillis