SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DURAN DURAN – DANSE MACABRE

DURAN DURAN
DANSE MACABRE
TAPE MODERN/BMG

Halloween has come early this year, courtesy of Duran Duran. Danse Macabre, the latest album by the legendary band, is a Halloween concept album of 13 tracks (even the number of tracks has a sense of unease and darkness) featuring some new material, reimagined songs from their discography and a handful of covers.

The record’s high points come from the new material and reimagined stuff. In the near future, “Danse Macabre” will probably become a Halloween staple. The chorus rocks and, in my opinion, is one of their most infectious and catchy to date. The instrumentation is super sinister, dark, and mysterious. It even has a hint of Danny Elfman in it. Campy lyrics, playful and evil-sounding vocals by Simon Le Bon, and a bone-chilling and gothic atmosphere make the track an endless amount of exciting Halloween fun. “Black Moonlight” features one of the best basslines of 2023 and will make you dance the October night away. If you are looking for new Halloween songs to add to your playlist, both tracks are must-haves.

“Night Boat” from their debut album Duran Duran already had a bone-chilling and unsettling sound, making it a perfect choice to reimagine. For this version, they doubled down on the creep factor and made the song even more ambient and ominous. Le Bon’s vocals are astonishing and top the original. The reimagined version of “Secret Oktober” (titled “Secret Oktober 31st”) turns the disco, synth-pop intro into a beautiful and eloquent lullaby. Both versions are mesmerizing, but the reimagined version is a bit better.

Unfortunately, the covers are not the best. With their cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Paint It, Black”, they ditch the iconic sitar and replace it with a synth to give it a more Duran Duran feel. It is an odd choice that does not pay off and is one of the worst covers in recent memory. Their cover of Billie Eilish’s “Bury A Friend” is not nearly as bad but is a major disappointment. “Spellbound” is a decent cover of the classic song by Siouxsie and the Banshees but does not come close to matching the exhilarating heights of the original. Le Bon tries (and ultimately fails) to do his best David Byrne impression in their cover of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”. However, Duran Duran does a great job nailing down the instrumentation. Lastly, “Super Lonely Freak” is a strange mashup of Duran Duran’s “Lonely In Your Nightmare” and Rick James’ “Super Freak” that somehow works quite well and had me smiling throughout the runtime.

Overall, despite some messy covers, Danse Macabre is a wonderful and eerie treat from Duran Duran for the Halloween season.

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