(Photo Credit: Claire Schaper)
Advance Review - Duncan Fellows: The Sadlands (October 16, 2020)
Austin, TX's own Duncan Fellows are back with their first full-length release since 2017! The five-piece have a unique indie sound that has inklings of Young the Giant in it, but truth be told is all it's own. Duncan Fellows are familiar with success, having played Austin City Limits, Voodoo Festival, SXSW, and Shaky Knees, but The Sadlands propels them into new territory.
Unrelentingly bright, The Sadlands is chock-full of melodies that begged to be danced to and hooks that beg to be screamed in a live setting. Right out of the gate with "Tube Today" Duncan Fellows are already off to the races and they never let up from that point. Their perspective on indie and alt is fresh and frankly quite needed in 2020. There are times the music feels absolutely epic, such as on "Like I Used To". There are other moments that the band breaks it down, like on "Previous State". Then there's "Feeling Down", a banger with guitar riffs reminiscent of the great Keith Richards. In short there's a lot to love here.
With The Sadlands, Duncan Fellows show the musical maturation of a band that is lightyears ahead of much of the other stuff I hear on the daily. I felt halfway through listening to the album that it will definitely be making an appearance on Alt Revue's countdown of Albums of the Year. The Sadlands is one of the freshest albums of the year from a band that is sure to be making major noise in the near future. Give this a listen as soon as you can.
Rating - 5/5