Cuff the Duke
Sidelines of the City
Hardwood, 2007
*** out of 5
Sidelines of the City, Cuff the Duke’s third album, is further proof of the artistic powers of aging. Simply put, they’re getting better all the time, but they’re not quite there yet. There’s a youthfulness that, instead of displaying their vitality, prodigy, and all the other advantages of being young, seems to block their desire for mature acceptance.
The album opens with If I Live or If I Die, all honky-tonk sawing fiddles and intimations of mortality. The Dean Wareham guitar extensions of the lengthy Failure to Some and the sweet balladry of When All Else Fails and Fades are also highlights. However, did you notice the “failure” references in the titles? How can a band with so much youthful verve be so full of self-loathing? Really, it smacks of some kind of Hamlet woe-is-me-syndrome: the world weighs heavily on the young prince’s shoulders. It’s something that most people grow out of, unless they’re Sylvia Plath.
The standard complement of guitars, bass and drums, augmented with lap-steel, fiddle and keys is not an especially novel one, but it’s played well and enjoyable to listen to. Amidst the Blue Rodeo and Flying Burrito Brothers feel of the album, suddenly is flown in Surging Revival. This jaunty Sloan-esque song recalls nothing so much as the Jay Ferguson penned Take Good Care of the Poor Boy. It’s the only real moment of dissonance in an otherwise cohesive album.
Sidelines of the City works best with songs like hometown tribute Rossland Square, which, unbelievably, gives props to one of Canada’s most boring cities: Oshawa. However, things get a little grim on The Ballad of The Tired Old Man. I know the lyrics are meant to be stirring, and probably indignation inducing, but “He was glad when his son joined the army / As he had once done so proudly / His only boy was sent overseas / And he was killed in a war of greed” probably has Wilfred Owen turning in his grave.
Simply put, many of the lyrics feel too lightweight and simplistic against the gravitas and maturity of the music. Patience, lads: the gloom that lies in the eternal sleep of death doesn’t quite fit your skinny frames yet.
With Sidelines of the City, Cuff the Duke is nearly there. They just need to grow some hair on their knuckles, lose some more on their pates, live life to its fullest, and then let an album flow out of those experiences. Time is our watch-word: only it can truly deliver on these early promises.
Review by Greg Hood-Morris
Agree? Disagree? Email Greg at criticizegreg@gmail.com
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