Looking for the next big thing? Well, you may just find it in Midwest duo, Zach and Dorthea Duenow. Zach fearlessly leads the duo armed with his acoustic guitar, quirky songwriting sense, and Beck-ish voice while Dorthea actually runs the show from behind her drum kit, as unafraid to wail as she is to play it cool. The world needs more female drummers, let's face it. Thankfully, Duenow has nothing in common with the White Stripes aside from the fact that she plays drums and he plays guitar and sings.
The album's highpoint comes all too quickly unfortunately. The opening song, "Six Pack" runs unopposed for leader of the album. Invoking some of Beck's mojo and a bit of Ray Stevens' musical storytelling ability, Zach delivers some in your face/ "not sure I wanted to hear it put that way" life lessons with a smile. It's definitely one of those songs that could as easily be fiction as autobiographical. No matter what though, you want to sing along. It's so darn catchy! After this song the band settles into a pretty good groove blending elements of Americana, Alternative, and Pop. The acoustic pop of "Second Best" is another great moment - blending despair and happiness together so perfectly you'd never guess they were opposite emotions. "But" probably comes the closest to reaching the colossal opening that "Six Pack" provides. The use of piano, trumpets, cowbell (more cowbell!) and what I believe to be sitar give it an almost funk feel in certain points.
I love this CD. My only real complaint with it is that it loses your attention in the middle because of its length. For a few songs it all just starts to blend together and then picks up again with the last 3 songs- so at least you go out on a high note. Fans of Beck, The Bloodhound Gang, and other edgy alternative artists will find a lot to love here. Zach and Dorthea are gonna be big, mark my words.
3/4
