The Dull Blades: Less Production, More Seduction
The Dull Blades Less Production, More Seduction Dull Records; 2012
Two-man bands have been fashionable as of late, and the Dull Blades are the 
most recent to crop up in Brevard. But the austerity you may see on stage doesn’t translate into a thin wash of music. Rather, Nik Talbot (guitars and vocals) and Anthony Fata (drums, percussion, and organ) create a churning sound that’s equal parts thick, muscular blues and amped-up garage rock.
Throughout it all, the Melbourne-based duo play heavily on instruments that lock into a solid and unwavering rhythm. Like accomplished minimalist painters, it’s what they leave out of the songs that help make them stand out. Their debut, Less Production, More Seduction, is a solid slab of driving rock that bears repeated listens. On slower numbers, Talbot’s voice is plaintive and worried, as on opener “My Baby Looks Good Tonight.” “Nature Of” finds the pair pushing hard, moving walls of noise in the finest traditions of Love or The Rivieras. “I Know You Wanna Love” sounds like a lost Dave Clark Five number. It shimmies and grinds, propelled by waves of cymbal wash, and is colored with a howling vocal. This is the sort of music that’ll make you want to pick up a guitar and learn to play.
Closing out the album is the guitar-dominated angst of “This Blood,” which starts off as a slow boil in the vein of John Lee Hooker before building itself to soaring heights. On it, Talbot’s voice is commanding and raucous, yet teases the listener with where it’s headed each time the tempo changes. With some organ or percussion overdubs to help fill in the spaces, Fata’s contribution can’t be overstated. He colors phrases and passages with just enough of the right fills to keep the spaces lightly adorned. Less Production, More Seduction is an uncluttered collection of songs filled with darkly hopeful lyrics, and snaking guitar riffs all delivered with youthful aplomb.
M.A. Rivera
