eMusic Review 0
Having honed their aggressive brand of synth-punk over the last five years, Montreal's Duchess Says has finally dropped their debut, Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs. In a shambolic style similar to labelmates Les George Leningrad, the quartet blast through 13 dark, shattered tunes. Obviously indebted to post-punk heavyweights both past (they cover Six Finger Satellite's "Rabies") and present (ghosts of pre-italo Glass Candy abound), Dutchess Says relies on savage energy and bitingly catchy hooks to carry the album.
With much of Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs consisting of two-minute punk blasts, it's often the stretched-out spook tracks that hit hardest. "I've Got the Flu" eerily pairs a heavy distorted bass dirge with a spiraling synth wail and the slow burn intro of "A Century Old" makes for a creepily affecting prelude to the carnival-esque, destroyed dance-punk of the final two minutes. While hardly revolutionary, Anthologie des 3 Perchoirs's dark n 'dirty grooves are perfect for the closest goths on the dancefloor.