Duels - The Bright Lights & What I Should Have Learned - Nude

Northern five-piece Duels certainly seem to live up to their name. Previous singles Potential Futures and XX show they have as much of a knack for stadium stomp-alongs as fellow Leodensians Kaiser Chiefs when they want, while What We Did Wrong is surely a

Northern five-piece Duels certainly seem to live up to their name.

Previous singles Potential Futures and XX show they have as much of a knack for stadium stomp-alongs as fellow Leodensians Kaiser Chiefs when they want, while What We Did Wrong is surely a Britpop-era also-ran.

Further evidence of sub-genre scatter can be found in claustrophobic last single The Slow Build, and the entertainingly frazzled, if derivative, Animal.

Meanwhile, Pressure On You is a beat-heavy take on New Wave that almost succeeds. Duels spread their talents a little too thin, but there is plenty of potential under the creative confusion.

Worth keeping an eye on.

3/5