Label: Polydor
Release Date: 03/12/07
Rating:
If Joanna Newsom is pure, unadultered sugar, then Duffy, newcomer to the female radio-pop genre, is her saccharine substitute. 'Rockferry' is the single from the forthcoming album, produced by veteran Bernard Butler, and what it may lack in ingenuity it more than makes up for in quality of sound. 'Rockferry' doesn't bite off more than it can chew; simple but well-layered strings, heavy piano, percussion, and guitar blend smoothly, while Duffy's epic, back-of-the-throat vocals sing (very, very well) plain, earnest lyrics. The authority and weariness that 'Rockferry' exudes is down to Duffy's voice and what Butler has done with it. She has powerful pipes and she knows it, and Butler effected her voice ever so slightly to dust it up, make it old, creaky.
What is striking about the combination of the voice with the arrangements is how classic it sounds. 'Rockferry' could have been written in the late 60s and just recently re-discovered. Whether this is a good thing or not depends entirely on your own preference; all that can be fairly said about it is that it is executed incredibly well. Although the duo won't earn any points for creativity, Duffy and Butler definitely earn our admiration for making a tune bursting with class. Don't expect it to change your perspective, but do expect to enjoy it.
Daniel Good
Duffy Official Site
Duffy Myspace
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