Duke Fame Regrets label: Geeves Records released: 2002 our score: 3.5 out of 5.0 buy it: here

The name alone has to be worth something. But don’t expect Spinal Tap influenced hard rock because of the name. This Atlanta, Georgia based quintet may share a sense of humor with the mockumentary band, but a similarity in sound is nowhere to be found. Instead Duke Fame seems to align themselves sonically with the likes of the Replacements and similar ‘80’s indie rock outfits, with lead vocals that sound like a cross between Neil Young and early David Bowie. The result is a solid, but sometimes shallow, debut.

The title and lead track “Regrets” starts the album off on an excellent note. The song has enough bouncy guitar riffs and backing “ohh ohh ohh’s” to satisfy even the most fickle pop rock listener. Another stand out track is the drunken ballad “Most Days”, with such great and honest lyrics as “Two hands on the bottle/With nothing to fear/All my debts are paid off/I’m in the clear.” But the pop-rock formula that works so well in these and a few other songs does not work so well when it is repeated over and over again, as it does sometimes on this album.

According to the bands website, Regrets was “recorded in about an hour and written in half that time,” and that is where the problem lies in this album. Much of the background music sounds like it was recorded in a garage and it all tends to bleed into each other, and very few of the songs are able to differentiate themselves from the 11 other tracks on the album. But that being said, this band has to have some talent because they are still able to produce a solid, listenable product. This is, after all, a debut CD and all of their past sins can be easily forgotten if they can build off the talent they have now and manage to put some decent time into the songwriting and recording process.
28-Jan-2003 3:28 PM

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