Dude York: Falling review – wild swings from pop to emo

The Seattle band’s fourth album continues on their path of spiky indie rock

Falling
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Artist: Dude York
Genre: Rock
Label: Hardly Art

Dude York don’t hang around when it comes to releasing albums. The Seattle band have release three records and an EP since 2014, and their fourth continues their well-trodden path of spiky indie-rock songs that swing wildly from emo to the poppier end of the spectrum.

Vocalists Claire England and Peter Richards keep things interesting from song to song, England's chirpy Kate Pierson-esque voice an apt foil to Richards's surfer-dude drawl.

With a lyrical focus on the ups and downs of a relationship, some songs hit more tenderly than others; Box comes off like someone forgot the correct lyrics to The Killers’ Mr. Brightside (“It started with a kiss / Who would have thought that it would end like this, in a total eclipse?”)

Clumsy phrasing aside, the emo-tinged Should’ve and the Foo Fighters-style menace of How It Goes impress, while Unexpected sounds like Rilo Kiley if they had never made it out of their parents’ garage or past their existential teenage years.

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That’s not as bad as it may sound, because despite these short songs remaining a little one-note throughout, there is a certain charm to the taut, playful bounce of most of this album.

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy

Lauren Murphy is a freelance journalist and broadcaster. She writes about music and the arts for The Irish Times