"The Angels Are All That's Owed" by Duke Keats
Review
Rare nowadays is the week without a top notch Duke Keats drop and this one is no exception seeing the release of the latest ‘Avalon' instalment in the shape of "The Angels Are All That's Owed". (Incidentally if like me trying to keep track of the prolific creativity of His Grace is challenging, he's decided to split the thirteen ‘Avalon' tracks into three subdivisions not counting the outings as singles as we have here).
As you'll know, this latest collection is generally acoustic in nature and this song is mostly so but don't mistake being acoustic for simplicity as he plays banjos, slide, acoustic & electric guitar, vocal layers as well as synths and there are samples in there too (and of course the artwork & production are all his own work also).
It's quite heavy too: if predecessor "There Was a Measure" touched on narcissism, "The Angels Are All That's Owed" goes after iconography and superstition: albeit in such a poetic lyrical way that you would need a few listens to burrow down into his intent. I think he wants you to put in the hard yards on this one & really engage with it: starting with the title & thence into the lyrics, this is a song dense with ideas & imagery.
Musically the picture has a superficial lightness of touch. Opening in a pretty sacred manner, it soon soars out and floats ever upwards (it's been described as "cavernous" but to me the huge space is the vault of heaven itself) yet with so much detail lurking within it that you are constantly focusing in on elements which drift in and out of the mix & waltz around his breathy & softly accented vocal. Can something I've just described as being borne gently upwards also possess profundity? Well Duke manages to pull that one off as he always does when combining two apparently contradictory ideas in one song.
Tonight he plays at the Gig for Palestine at the 2 Tone Village: amongst the many other performers will also be Ace Ambrose. Excellent cause, excellent music.
