Change is good.
After receiving a Juno award and a Grammy nomination last year, The Duhks were poised for greatness. So what do they do? Change lead singers and re-tool their sound, of course! Fast Paced World is the Canadian band’s first album with their new singer Sarah Dugas and her brother Christian, the new drummer. On the transition Sarah says, "We traveled from Winnipeg, locked ourselves in a Nashville basement, pooled our ideas together and invented a new sound." Expanding on the band’s original bluegrass and gospel influences they expose a world beat vibe and even more of their French-Canadian heritage. It’s a change provides them with a natural progression, turning the personnel change into a real positive.
The core of the band remains with virtuoso players Tania Elizabeth (fiddle), Jordan McConnell (guitar) and Leonard Podolak (banjo), but Dugas’ soulful vocals are the focus from the start with an intense version of the traditional song “Mighty Storm” about the Galveston flood of 1900. From the campy French lounge music of “Toujours Vouloir” to the jazzy “Sleeping is All I Wanna Do” and the psycho cabaret tune “This Fall”, they cover a lot of ground. It’s the type of variety only hinted at on their first three albums. On “95 South” the whole band joins in on vocals for a folk-blues jam that sounds like something they cooked up right there on the bus.
Another aspect of their allure is The Duhks Sustainability Project they began recently. On their GreenDuhks.com website they explain how they have become more aware of the impact that constant touring has on the Earth. They fuel up now on bio-diesel and support certified organic foods and local farmers wherever they go. In a Fast Paced World, The Duhks are hard to keep up with.
Listen for songs from the album Fast Paced World by The Duhks all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box” on Hampton Roads public radio 89.5 WHRV Mon. through Thurs. from 7 to 9 p.m., Sat. afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. and on-demand at www.whrv.org/outofthebox.