Sunrise/Sunset - Dutchess and the Duke

Why I Chose It

Daniel told me to.

Live Blog

Hands - I like the guitar coming in. The solo is pretty good. I also like this guy's vocals. I like the background organ too. The harmonies are pretty good too.

Scorpio - More upbeat than the last one. I like the sad cello in the right ear. Western feeling. Reminds me of Murder by Death, in a good way. Guitar bridge at 1:44 is cool. I like vocal harmony, again. It's got a folk feeling in the vocals. "I feel fine, the sky is blue, the sun is shining", but I don't really believe it. "I don't have to kill myself to feel alive". "I'm a long long way from you"

Let It Die - I like the rhythm and guitar progression. "Please please, it's alright. Let it die. Let it Die (Let it die)". I always like call and response. I also like good guitar solos. They fit the song. The girl's voice to respond it really well done.

Living This Life - The sirens at the beginning in the faint background are a nice touch. "If I'm on fire, why am I so cold?". All around good song.

Sunrise/Sunset - Girl has come out to lead the vocals. Her voice is flatter than one would expect, but it lends itself to being more authentic. I like the backing "aaa"s from the male voice. They're flat just like the vocals. The piano is pretty interesting. I like the solo after it too.

Never Had a Chance - "If you take all you need, what's the make you come back for more?". "Coulda got fucked up together, coulda lived and died together, all alone". Sad song.

I Don't Feel Anything - This title is depressing. "Baby, when I look into your eyes, I don't feel anything". Wow. This is such a sad song. "I never asked you for your love".  Good song, but so depressing.

New Shadow - Johnny Cash feeling guitar riff. Vocals are close to Cash too, though could never be mistaken for him. New girl? New sorrow? More depressing lyrics.

When You Leave My Arms - Girl vocals. Sad sad sad. "I see it in your eyes, you don't belong to me when you leave my arms". Oh man, girls singing about boys is almost more powerful, because it almost makes things seem worse if they're happening to someone else. I can just imagine a girl singing that about me, and it hurts.

The River - Man, this just continues to break my heart. It's so sad. Everything about the instrumentals just scream helplessness and sorrow. "I just laid down and died". Man, relationships are rough. 

Write Up

Wow, what a depressing CD. At about 3/4ths of the way through the CD I realized that it's sorta a concept CD. It's the sunrise and sunset on their relationships. The first half is the good part of the relationship. When it's new and exciting. It's different. It's changing. It's fun. Then, at the middle of the CD at the title track, it changes. It goes to describing the decline of the relationship. The sadness and the hurt that comes with the fall of it. It's really sad, but it's something that everyone can relate to. It's not handled in a childish way (Sky Eats Airplane's "you're the only one who's ever loved me!" comes to mind). Muisically, the CD draws a lot from folk and country influences. The organ is utilized as well as a number of other instruments. But the focus is on the acoustic guitar and the vocals. 

I like the CD. It's sad, it's depressing, its beautiful, its relatable. 

Would I listen again?

If I want something really sad.