Duologue - Never Get Lost

They describe themselves as ‘an expressive, melodic guitar band with glitchy electronica at their heart and soul’. This is a fairly apt summation; with the recent rise in popularity of introspective, electronic pop, front-man Tim Digby-Bell’s haunting, melancholic voice laying itself over rich and detailed soundscapes could easily have Duologue filed next to the likes of James Blake or East India Youth. However the fact that this sound has come from a quintet, rather than the mind of a single producer, gives it a slightly less internalised and more of a cinematic air.

Never Get Lost reflects on the struggles of living in the digital age and the effect that it has on relationships, creating a strange public solitude. The opening track ”Memex” (a term coined in 1945 by American Engineer Vannevar Bush for his imagined invention to compress all books and communications onto a single device designed to supplement one’s memory) was written in response to the online reaction to the death of a friend of the band, sparking the idea that online content starts to replace real-life memories. It’s complex subject matter, but they manage to tackle it in a genuinely thoughtful and emotive way, leaving enough space between the slightly muffled vocals, simplistic piano and slow, electronic beats. Accompanied by a ground breaking video that features a completely virtual 3D image of actress Beryl Nesbitt, created by Marshmallow Laser Feast and using 94 HD cameras, it’s clear that Duologue are not a band to do things by halves – there’s a sense that every note and every lyric has been deeply considered and crafted.

Such careful consideration is clearly Duologue’s strength, and the album has been beautifully self-produced, although co-mixed with Ian Dowling (Jungle/Cloud Control). Lead single”Forests” beautifully combines delicate, glittering plucked strings, underpinned by driving urgent beats it feels frantic yet dreamy. However, by the end of the album such in-depth study of the concept starts to feel like a little much, and it would be nice to hear a bit more variety of subject matter; perhaps some lighter relief from what begins to feel like an overly melancholic record.

There are some marked highlights that stand out, such as “Drag & Drop”, which manages to merge a more pop inspired vocal line, but slides effortlessly in to a dark, industrial sounding breakdown that hints at influences of early Nine Inch Nails. It begins to set them apart from some of the other emotive electronica around at the moment.

Overall, Never Get Lost is an impressive feat of production, with intelligent rhythms and a vast array of carefully placed sonic details that come together to create its own dreamlike world that can be all encompassing. Perhaps, like the technological phenomena it's trying to explore, it can at times become overwhelming, but it’s rare to see modern issues tackled with such artistry and painstaking reflection, and for that it’s definitely worth letting yourself get sucked into for a while.