Artist The Dutchess And The Duke

Website
The Dutchess And The Duke

Seattle boy-girl duo The Dutchess & The Duke audaciously play pretty ’60s folk-pop like it’s the sexiest, most dangerous stuff in the world. Amazingly, it comes off great on record: Both 2009's Sunrise/Sunset and 2008’s She’s The Dutchess, He’s The Duke immerse themselves in sad, emotionally heavy balladry without letting it get too precious, with a refreshing directness likely borne out of members Kimberly Morrison and Jesse Lortz's punk roots. Their debut kept things direct and punchy via no-frills, eight-track production, but Sunrise takes a more layered, cinematic approach (thanks to Gris Gris' Greg Ashley)—though the cocky spite dripping from Lortz’s Jagger-esque vocals keeps the songs away from sounding like twee Wes Anderson soundtrack material. While the results are undeniably pretty, the songs also exude a dark sexuality that gives them a dangerous edge.

Updated 02/04/2010