Duraluxe
- The
Suitcase
Southern California outfit Duraluxe incorporate both terrestrial
and extraterrestrial atmospheres, songs whose foundations are
definitely sunk in terra-firma while
adorned with aural phenomena that are totally cosmic, chucking in the most serene
and surreal late-model Flaming Lips style psychedelic glorification, thoughtfully
balanced with a effervescing eighties new-wave frequency that broadly hints at
classic albums by The Psychedelic Furs and Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark.
Duraluxe maestro Chris Colbert's production skills have been utilized by outits
like Elf Power, Summer Hymns, Mineral and up-and-comers Ester Drang, here he
adorns the songs in the sonic equivalents of strobe lights and shimmering confetti.
A surreal album, recommended to fans of Grandaddy, The Lassie Foundation, The
Flaming Lips,
Sparklehorse, Mercury Rev…
For 'The Suitcase' Duraluxe recorded at fabled Green Room Studios in Huntington
Beach California with the addition of virtuoso Frank Lenz (Lassie Foundation,
Cush) on piano, harmonies and orchestrations, and with the intention of bursting
the boundaries of guitar-based pop music. A survey of the geographical and emotional
flux of Duraluxe over the past year, The Suitcase - from rocking
opening salvo "Please Be Cool" on -- condenses the band's sonic experimentation
into concise pop songs, without losing any of the power of its psychedelic flights
of fancy. "Hit So Hard," for example, is back, but for this version,
the ardor of the anguished guitars gets retranslated through full orchestration
and surf harmonies; "All Together Now" and "Sometimes" bring
simple, sunny pop smarts; the brilliant cacophony
of old is revisited in "Save One for Giessen" and "I-95";
and the band discover new grooves and work a relaxed melodic m.o. in "Phantom
Power", "Helium Hand of Power" and "Sevenths
and Minors". "All Together" is a featured pre-release track on
Parasol 'Sweet Sixteen' Volume 5 CD.
DURALUXE BIOGRAPHY…
The story of Duraluxe begins early in 1997 in Music City: Nashville Tennessee.
Transplants both, producer/engineer Chris Colbert and recently unattached guitarist
Troy Daugherty (ex-Hoi Polloi) began toying around with a 1966 Rhythm Ace drum
machine and an ADAT. The two surly music-biz veterans started writing songs together,
and before long they'd sunk their life savings into their own recording studio
and Duraluxe was born.
Los Angeleno Chris Colbert spent his formative years producing and engineering
for MTV and such artists as the Lassie Foundation, Mineral, Pave the Rocket,
the Adolescents, Morella's Forest and Elf Power. Deciding it was time to turn
his skills toward his own music, Colbert helmed fruitful Nashville sessions with
Daugherty in 1998 -- produced, mixed and engineered by the pair at their studio
(not-so-coincidentally named Dolorosa) - and Duraluxe took those tapes and another
batch of songs up to Chicago for sessions produced and mixed by studio guru Keith
Cleversley (Spiritualized, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev). Duraluxe returned from
Chicago with Dolorosa (Meddle Records 1999), the result of the sessions, and
a new drummer in Mark Emge.
Dolorosa was a shimmering, incandescent blend of the Nashville/Chicago sessions,
containing college-radio faves "Queen of Centerville" and "Lowly
Creatures." Then it was somebody's bright idea (let's say ... Chris) to
move the whole shebang to Athens, GA (Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, Japancakes,
some guys called R.E.M.) and make a band of it. They had access to studio time,
the place was cheap, and they could focus on turning into a live act (nobody
told them about the bugs). A few trips across the country later and they were
a good one, returning with another Chicago native in the process, Megan Morrison
on backing vocals and keyboards. Duraluxe subsequently played lots of music in
Athens and became local radio
favorites.
Then it was somebody's bright idea (let's say Chris) to move back home to LA
with him and take things to the next level. After relocating to the other side
of the country, Duraluxe quickly settled in and immediately released I Duel Sioux
and the Ale of Saturn (Grand Theft Autumn Records 2001), a split full-length
CD with L.A.'s the Lassie Foundation. The unique album featured six Duraluxe
tracks recorded in Athens pitted opposite six tracks by the Lassie Foundation,
and included Duraluxe live and college-radio favorites "Hits
So Hard" and "Ruled By Fear."
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