IN THE ARMS OF SISTER MORPHINE
Dual/Duel
the Crooked Crew
(F Oliva 3/11/18)

TWISTING and turning through a meandering course Captain Excuse and the Crooked Crew continue their epic voyage of the damned to the heart of darkness.
The latest offering recreates its own post-rock solemnity, more a musical liturgy and soundtrack to sleepless nights than a collection of songs in the conventional sense of the word, a sustained hypnotic loop that lures you into an intimate realm with stealth, checking, halting time, slowing it down, holding it back until everything stands still.
It is clear from the captivating opening sax notes that the Captain invites us to navigate an unusual, nuanced musical ocean, one imbued with an otherworldly quality, with bleak and sombre traits but also capable of splendid moments of musical if not lyrical reprieve.
Captain Excuse throws the gauntlet once again to see if anyone dare take up the challenge. This is not for the faint-hearted or those content with mass produced throwaway pop artifacts. These are musical passages meant to endure, meaty elegies for time and the precariousness of human relations.
The Captain dons complex and multilayered musical identities to draw from an imposing panoply of textured sound that is testament to the band’s vast musical arsenal and creative power, to chronicle the deepest introspection of the human soul. These anthems of doom and sorrow, at times claustrophobic, at others hauntingly beautiful, are painstakingly constructed upon minimalist tones, martial rhythms that bloom into mid-tempo folksy ballads, spellbinding Americana, infectious pop melodies with a capital P; all of which is (spell)bound together by the Captain’s grave and broken voice that embraces a disarming capacity for self-awareness.
Yet when all seems lost, the murky fog that accompanies these seasoned mariners will be lifted yet again to allow the light to shine through. There are notable highlights; ‘The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner,’ that would have been an apt addition to the bill at David Lynch’s Roadhouse Tavern, giving way to the euphoria of the fittingly named ‘The Greatest’, like a shining light through the darkness, its energetic acoustic guitar blowing away the last cobwebs in the sky as dawn breaks.
It has been stated that humans create metaphor, art, music, as a means to displace the unnamable. Dual/Duel is one such instance, a requiem for life which is ultimately what ends up killing you. It can be no other way.
Under the influence of Captain Excuse and the Crooked Crew. Yet again they have steered clear of the iceberg, one more time. Davy Jones locker will have to wait.

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dual/duel es algo así como un viaje hacia nuestras interioridades, hacia nuestras entrañas. Un viaje pausado, un remanso sonoro en medio del tumulto de ondas hertzianas, de informaciones, de ruidos, e incluso de músicas que nos invade a diario; aunque, efectivamente, empleando esa dualidad que se nos anuncia en su título. Si con esos saxos que parece que nos despiertan en “Let them ring” nos iniciamos hacia ese periplo interior; en cortes como “Nihilistic desilusions”, The crooked crew nos muestra un camino aparentemente más florido hacia ese hogar, ese agridulce hogar que nos acogerá definitivamente en la fantasmagoría obsesiva de “Hidden intentions”.

El sentido dual de este periplo de dual/duel nos conduce en “Decadence” a esa paz interior que definitivamente se encuentra en el ritmo de marcha de “Please deliver”. La vida contiene esos altibajos.

El viaje de “dual/duel” es un reflejo más de ello. Las emociones van y vienen, y eso mismo ocurre con las composiciones de este disco. En cualquier caso, éste finaliza con el mensaje de The greatest, quizás la canción más sencilla y probablemente más bella del conjunto.

Una forma de indicarnos que esa idea del viaje continuará en breve. Para ello, The Crooked Crew se vale de Diminishing returns, una preciosa pieza instrumental que cierra ese círculo, ese viaje interior. Para darle forma sonora a dual/duel, The crooked crew se vale de una instrumentación y de unas influencias decididamente clásicas, solemnemente folkies: huele “a madera” a lo largo del álbum. Ahora, el oyente (o lector), debe ser quien extraiga las conclusiones que le resulten más convenientes.

Jorge Nuñez/ the jangle box


42 minutes 43 seconds