Customer Reviews

Fast Paced World

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I feel inadequate to review this album - I have a hearing loss which prevents me from noticing nuance, but the music is so exceptional I can hear between the lines. The Duhks are an eclectic mix of traditional and modern styles. "Mighty Storm" a traditional song is infused with modern instruments and yet maintains an old time sensibility. It is iconic of the band leading you into an old folk song in ways you have not considered.

Sarah Dugas, the lead singer, ably replaces Jessee Havey the former lead singer, bringing her distinctive voice to the album. Ms Dugas, maintains a distinctive style but you hear echoes of Macy Grey in "this fall" and Alicia Keys/Billy Holiday in "sleepin' is all i wanna do". Leonard Podolak , the founder, provides the only non-Dugas lead vocal in "95 South" a rollicking blue grass infused song. Jordan McConnell, as usual, provides exquisite guitar support. Tania Elizabeth sustains the superb string support to the project and co-wrote the haunting, jazz infused "i see you". Christian Dugas, replacing the remarkable Scott Senior, blends seamlessly into the mix. Traditional arrangements presented are along with band written ones and a French song by Sarah Dugas.

The Duhks are not a genre based band. They incorporate what ever fits into their sound and they cannot be defined by any label. Give a listen and buy.

Had listened to the Duhks on the radio and really enjoyed them. Finally saw them live this past weekend at World Cafe Live in Philly, and they were amazing. They played most of Fast Paced World and I just had to buy it. I have also listened to their older work and agree this new recording and their new sound is an evolution. The old stuff was much more in the traditional bluegrass mold. Their new stuff is genre-busting, while still retaining some bluegrass elements and instrumentation (fiddle, banjo). Sarah Dugas has a great set of pipes, and especially live really lets it rip, but they are definitely still truly a band - all are great musicians. For any of you that have not seen them live, I highly recommend it!

I heard The Duhks in concert prior to purchasing this album. Immediately upon hearing the title track played, I was convinced to buy this album in particular. The music will make you move, but the lyrics will make you think. This album has not disappointed me since the moment I popped it in.

If you like a band that chooses one sound and sticks with it, this is probably not the album for you. However, if you're into eclectic selections with excellent vocals and arrangements, I would definitely recommend to you this album.

I stumbled across "Mighty Storm" while driving home from work, and was enticed enough by it's blues soaked power that I picked up the album. I was expecting more of the same, but what I found was something far more rich and intrigueing. The Duhks bring together a lush blend of folk, blues, bluegrass and world music that keeps you both guessing and fully absorbed.
Singer Sarah Dugas is magnificent. Her soulfull, rich and exotic voice is perfect for guiding the solid and talented band in it's journey. "This Fall" wouldn't be out of place on a cabaret stage. "Toujour Vouloir" is sung entirely in French and is both sultry and powerfull. "Magalenha" is just downright funky, and "95 South" is a straight forward fingerpickin' throwdown. The more I listen to this album, the more I love it, and I feel fairly certain this band will get bigger in time. If a well known band like the Dixie Chicks recorded a song like "You Don't See It" it would no doubt be a huge hit.
In short, I love this album; I'm in love with Sarah Duga's voice, and I'm already itching to hear more from this impressive band, hopefully for a very long time to come.

I've enjoyed The Duhks' other albums so I was excited to hear they had a new one out and curious to find out what their new members have to contribute. I like this album a lot but for very different reasons than I like their other work. On previous albums, instrumentals were a highlight but I was underwhelmed by them this time around ("Adam's 3-Step," "Ship High in Transit," "New Rigged Ship"). Also, while Leonard Polodak's vocals were some of my favorites before, I skip his "95 South" on this album. That said, there is a lot to enjoy here. Sarah Dugas' voice and songwriting skills are great additions to the group. My favorite tracks are "Fast Paced World," "This Fall," and "Toujours Vouloir" - even though I don't speak a word of French. Other reviewers have commented negatively on how different this album is from their others. Personally, I like hearing groups evolve over years of working together - NIckel Creek's body of work is another great example. If they didn't have anything new to say, what would be the point of putting out a new CD?

I want to start this by saying that the Duhks used to be one of my favorite groups. Used to because of their recent effort. Their live shows on the other hand are still very exciting and I would rate those five stars.

On the other hand I have followed the duhks for a long time, and they didn't put out anything bad until this.

There was something magical about each one of their previous albums. All of them encompassing old-time string band and roots music in some sense. This kept everything very organic sounding yet new and it truly was beautiful. Having a band with Scott Senor's style of drums and the prevalence of clawhammer banjo and amazing fiddle playing was amazing. All I hear on this album is compression, drums, simple rhythms, mediocre song writing and monotonous sounding music. The Duhks old albums are all still in heavy rotation for me and this one quickly came and went.

You know it's not going well when your side project (Turtleduhks) make better albums than your current project (fast paced world). I want the old duhks back, and i don't mean jessee havey by that, I mean that I want the originality that brought songs like Ruth Ungar's four blue walls and beautiful complex songs in 5/4 rhythm like Fox and The Bee. They are still incredible musicians and are capable of things that almost no other band is. I think Leonard Podolak needs to remember why he made the group in the first place and go back to that, because that is why I loved the Duhks, because they were making music that didn't have a standard drum kit compressed emo-sounding lyrics vibe.

I really like the new vocalist, very strong voice. My new favorite Duhks CD. Leonard kills on the banjo as usual.

Since hearing on the Mark and Brian show we are hooked. This album is diverse and fun. Looking forward to seeing them live in August..

This is the third CD by the Duhks and, I think, the best yet. Even with a new drummer and vocalist they haven't missed a beat and just seem to be getting better. This is probably my favorite CD of the ones I've purchased in the past year.

Fast Paced World (2008, Wel) The Duhks' fourth studio album. ***

I'm not sure how the Duhks attained the label of "progressive bluegrass," but I think that is hardly what I would call it. In fact, to even attempt to define their genre is difficult, and in their case it's not necessarily a compliment. Fast Paced World often finds the band trying to do too much, ranging from their original bluegrass roots to world, blues, and straightforward jam. To add on top of that, lead singer Sarah Dugas hardly fits the band's approach. Dugas is a jazz singer, plain and simple, and her husky Feist/Winehouse sounding vocals don't suit what the band should be attempting. Now, her voice is very rich and is excellent, and it works great on African pieces like "Magalenha" or the thunderous opener, "Mighty Storm." The problem? A cover of something like "Magalenha" doesn't belong here.

None of the material is bad or poorly performed, but because none of it adds together in any logical sense, you're left wondering what the band was thinking when they went into the studio. It's not unreasonable to entertain the thought that a computer came up with the track sequencing, as random order would work nearly as well as the arrangement they have here. While Fast Paced World may sound good, it's ultimately an aimlessly meandering album, attempting to bring an established sound (which isn't established) to a wide array of genres.