Thin Black Duke

Local! (Frontman Eugene Robinson was a Stanford undergrad in the ‘80s, and the band still keeps a Stanford P.O. Box.) Dark, dissonant, angular, intricately arranged rock featuring orchestral instruments. Thin Black Duke is the first studio album in a decade from this legendary Bay Area noise rock group. Given the band’s confrontational reputation, this record is disarmingly beautiful and regal, but the pervasive mood of dread still makes it an intense listen. The ornately styled lyrics seem to detail the distress and decline of some opulent figure, and Robinson’s vocal delivery runs from out-of-breath whispering to panicked screeching. Equally visceral and elegant—heavy music for the anxious mind. FCC WARNING: 3. Favorites: 2, 4, 7, 8.

1. (4:32)—Medium-slow. Jaunty beginning featuring whistling quickly turns into an agitated march with lots of orchestral glissandos.
2. *(4:17)—Slow. Lovely, luxuriously mournful, triumphant dirge. Makes me think they could write a phenomenal Bond theme.
3. (3:25)—FCC (f***) Fast, somewhat surfy, with sputtering, enraged, almost incomprehensible vocals.
4. *(6:18)—Slow, with a doom metal feel. Ominous, gorgeous strings and horns enter halfway. Increases in speed and sounds briefly like Slint, then crescendoes to a hysterical climax.
5. (5:23)—Propulsive headbanger of mostly one chord, with very slow, spaced out passages. RIYL The Jesus Lizard. Pretty ending featuring bell-like tones.
6. (4:32)—Melancholy mid-tempo waltz with prominent piano and horn. Rises and falls gradually, without any drastic changes.
7. *(4:04)—Slow. Moves from a lush, melodic orchestral beginning to a heavy, grand second half featuring wailing feedback and woodwinds.
8. *(6:28)—Slow. Begins in a pretty, majestic, almost wistful fashion, makes a gradual turn to hellish dissonance before a calm finish.