Ducks Ltd.

I’ll be the first to admit that Ducks Ltd hadn’t immediately won me over with their debut. Silly as it sounds their name put me off for a while and the album’s charms were slow to catch around here. However, I’m also one to admit when I’m wrong, the album caught up to me over time. Now, the band’s sophomore album, Harm’s Way, finds them stronger than ever and serving up a jangle-pop juggernaut that’s picking through the bejeweled bounties of the Kiwi-pop ‘80s, threading through acolytes on down through the CapTracks years. The band stands apart from other miners of the Antipodean aura, capturing the impellent spirit of the original bunch without getting caught up in the pastiche that often snags and snares the most well-intentioned imitators.

The record’s best asset is its pacing. The songs are often bracing and breathless runs towards the finish, tumbling down the hill and gaining speed as the go. They’re joyous and jubilant, but balanced with Tom McGreevy’s slight hangdog delivery. That balance of bittersweet and buoyant is a time tested formula, but Ducks Ltd make each new song that slips out of the speakers feel like they’ve done their homework. Time under the headphones has paid off handsomely. From the rapid fire snare on “The Main Thing,” to the twang-slung sonics of “Train Full of Gasoline,” and the somber strings on “Heavy Bag,” the band doesn’t waste a trick. There’s a building bloom of new janglers. Someday a new generation of crate diggers will have a field day sorting though it all, but rest assured that Harm’s Way will be among the gems that stands out.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.