Of a Nature or Degree

Manchester, England quartet Duds released several EPs and under-the-radar collections of their high-strung post-punk sounds, but with Of a Nature or Degree they streamlined their brilliantly nervous songs even more, stretching a thin layer of anxiety over 12 tracks that fly quickly by. Released on John Dwyer's (Thee Oh Sees) tastemaking label Castle Face Records, this album sounds only slightly more hi-fi than previous releases, and Duds rely less on production values and more on playing in lockstep tightness to get their angular sounds across. With post-punk acts arriving in the late 2010s, the issue of carbon-copy derivativeness can be a common problem. Improving on the energy of classic post-punk originators like Wire, Josef K, the Pop Group, et al. would be difficult or even impossible in an updated context, and many bands fall short of doing much more than imitating the legends. It's hard to ignore the direct impact of some of those bands on Of a Nature or Degree. Even the best tracks owe a big debt, with the funky bassline and choppy, siren-like guitar of "Elastic Seal" bringing Solid Gold-era Gang of Four immediately to mind, the marching "The Nose" recalling the Fall, and the dancy percussion and wild breakdowns of "Pro Tem" sounding like a lost collaboration between Delta 5 and the Homosexuals. While Duds show no hesitation paying tribute to some of the pillars of post-punk, their sound rises above its reference points through its sheer energy and nearly amphetamine-feeling drive. Clocking in at less than half an hour, one almost gets the sense that the bandmembers had to pace themselves to not rush through the tracks in half that time. Almost uncontainable occasional blasts of trumpet add to the feeling of urgency that holds the record together, with songs like "Signal, Sign" having more in common with latter-day D.C. punk bands like Nation of Ulysses and Meta-Matics than some of the more obvious post-punk influences. While moments on the record feel a little too much like a re-creation of something that came before, such moments rarely detract from an undeniably fierce whole. ~ Fred Thomas