- The UK duo find new inspiration in old prog house and garage.
- In recent years, the tastes of big UK dance floors have shifted towards something resembling progressive house: skippy drums, huge feelings, sound design and bittersweet breakdowns to die for. In a way, Dusky predicted this. Their first releases came on Above & Beyond's trance label Anjunadeep, after all. But by the time their music became inescapable it sounded little different (and completely of its time), all about chunky basslines and sampled vocal hooks that stuck in your head like nougat in your teeth. With their label 17 Steps they've become reliable purveyors of polished, punchy house as suitable for a festival main stage as a hotel lobby, with hardly a miss in their surprisingly large discography. They've also started edging closer and closer to their proggy roots, and new album JOY is a full-on leap, exploring every nook and cranny of the garage, prog and house influences they came up on, making them sound glossy and ultra-modern in the process.
Let's get to the elephant in the room: from the first track "Soundcheck," JOY sounds a lot like Bicep. The lovelorn vocal, the unmistakably proggy drum pattern, the quivering synths, it's a familiar recipe. But once JOY starts its exploration of UK dance music in all its shapes and forms, it becomes its something else, working in the mold of post-Involver dance music that cherry-picks elements from other genres and wraps it in an catchy, mainstream-baiting package.
Dusky wear their influences on their sleeve here. Jungle? Look no further than "Invisible," whose slowed down breakbeat underpinned by a four-to-the-floor kick drum is deeply satisfying. (And the 8-bit chords that trill in later are an overload of ear candy.) Late '80s acid house? "E-Dawn," based around a Doc Scott drum sample, is the duo's best "Voodoo Ray"-era A Guy Called Gerald impression. The itchy-feet skip of "Lift" recalls speed garage and the ominous Reese basslines of "Take Me High" zero in on that period when jungle was becoming drum & bass, only with the sleek, shiny coat you'd expect from the duo.
The only time that Dusky really sound like the old Dusky is on "Eros." (In fact, it dates back to 2013). This is the duo at their most recognizable, thumping organ bassline and wispy R&B vocal sample. It's pleasurable but also formulaic, only serving to highlight how far they've come since. The duo have created their own immaculately polished style of dance music made for the masses—"Fields" is Northern Exposure worship, practically begging for a festival drop. Even with all the stylistic detours on display with JOY, you know what you're getting with a Dusky record and the exact itch it'll scratch.
The duo's professionalism is their biggest asset, but it can also means that their records can blur together—they're all slick, hooky and eminently danceable. But this means the album format actually works to their advantage, unlike most dance music acts. JOY lets Dusky stretch out and explore the outer reaches of their style, with brief track lengths and a wandering muse that keeps it captivating all the way through. It's one of those dance records as good for studying or working as it is for dancing, and I don't mean that in a bad way. In an hour, Dusky traverse all sorts of rhythms, textures and melodies, keeping a steady, reliable rhythm going and occasionally catching your ear with those gorgeous, sparkling moments they do so well.
Tracklist01. Soundcheck
02. Hildegard
03. E-Dawn
04. Wave
05. Eros
06. Invisible
07. Take Me High
08. Fields
09. Lift
10. Local Newspaper
11. Supply Systems
12. Pharaoh
13. Silver