“We have never thought of ourselves as a rock ‘n’ roll band, more of an ongoing art project,” is how John Taylor has described Duran Duran.
Taylor, the ‘80s heartthrob who co-founded Duran Duran and just happens to play bass guitar like he made a deal with the devil, wasn’t lying.
In the 40-plus years since its members assembled in Birmingham, England, the ongoing project that is Duran Duran has created enough art to fill the National Gallery.
Now, with the release of Danse Macabre, which dropped at the stroke of midnight, Duran Duran is 16 albums deep in a career that’s had it all.
From their New Romantic origins, advancing into New Wave juggernauts with top-shelf music videos, the classic lineup of Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes and the three Taylors, John, Roger and Andy (none are related) dominated the first half of the 1980s like no other group.
That art project split in two (Arcadia and Power Station), scaled down, bagged more hits, enjoyed the comeback smash no-one saw coming, scaled down some more, reunited with the classic lineup, evolved, changed, pushed forward.
Then, a glorious comeback. A headline concert at London’s Hyde Park, a performance at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert at Buckingham Palace, sold-out shows in the U.S. and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, all in 2022.
And on it goes. Stretching across 13 tracks, Danse Macabre (released is Tape Modern/BMG) is the soundtrack to their “ultimate Halloween party,” a collection of reimagined DD songs, covers (including Billie Eilish’s “Bury A Friend,” The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” and Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”) and three fresh cuts, including the previously-released “Black Moonlight” and the title track.
The new release is also a nod to friendships, and includes special collaborations with former band members Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo, plus decades-long collaborator Nile Rodgers, producers Josh Blair and Mr. Hudson, and Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin.
The followup to 2021’s Future Past, which opened and peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Albums Chart, Danse Macabre is another brush stroke in that “ongoing art project” which started more than four decades ago.
Stream Danse Macabre below.
