Danse Macabre (Duran Duran album)

Last updated

Danse Macabre
Duran Duran - Danse Macabre.png
Studio album by
Duran Duran
Released27 October 2023 (2023-10-27)
Genre [1]
Length50:07
Label
  • BMG
  • Tape Modern
Producer
Duran Duran chronology
Future Past
(2021)		Danse Macabre
(2023)
Singles from Danse Macabre
  1. "Danse Macabre"
    Released: 30 August 2023
  2. "Black Moonlight"
    Released: 21 September 2023
  3. "Psycho Killer"
    Released: 24 October 2023

Danse Macabre is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Duran Duran. It was released on 27 October 2023 through BMG and Tape Modern. A Halloween-themed album, the record includes three new tracks, covers and reimagined versions of older Duran Duran material. Former guitarists Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo appear, making their first appearances on a Duran Duran LP since 2004's Astronaut and 2000's Pop Trash , respectively. Nile Rodgers and Victoria De Angelis of Måneskin also feature as guest artists.

Contents

Background and composition

On 20 March 2023, Duran Duran confirmed that they had an album slated for release later that year that would feature former guitarist Andy Taylor on a few select tracks. [2] Inspiration for the concept album came from a Halloween show the band played in Las Vegas on 31 October 2022. As a result, singer Simon Le Bon stated that the record is "about a crazy Halloween party" and "supposed to be fun". [3] Keyboardist Nick Rhodes revealed that the project "metamorphosed through a pure, organic process" and was made faster than anything they had done ever since their debut album. He also explained that the result is something they could not predict, citing the band's core elements—"emotion, mood, style and attitude"—as the essence of the album. It was summarised as "the soundtrack to their ultimate Halloween party". Founding member and bass player John Taylor added that the album "offers an interesting insight into the personality of the band" with music that "packs a real punch". [4]

While Danse Macabre had already been available for preorder in mid-August 2023, it was not officially announced until 30 August. [5] The lead single of the same name was released the same day. According to Rhodes the song was intended to celebrate "the joy and madness of Halloween". [6] Produced by the band, Josh Blair and Mr Hudson, the set of songs includes six covers—Billie Eilish's "Bury a Friend", Cerrone's "Supernature", the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black", Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Spellbound", the Specials' "Ghost Town", and Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer"— [7] [8] and remakes of three older Duran Duran songs: 1981's "Night Boat", 1983's "Secret Oktober" (as "Secret Oktober 31st") and 1993's "Love Voodoo" renamed "Love Voudou". It also features "Super Lonely Freak", a stylistic merge of the band's own "Lonely in Your Nightmare" (1982) and "Super Freak" by Rick James. [9] [10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic? 6.8/10 [11]
Metacritic 72/100 [12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [13]
American Songwriter 4/5 [14]
Clash 7/10 [15]
The Line of Best Fit 7/10 [16]
Mojo Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [9]
musicOMH Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
The Arts Desk Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]

Danse Macabre was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 72, based on seven reviews. [12] The aggregator AnyDecentMusic? has the critical consensus of the album at a 6.7 out of 10, also based on seven reviews. [11]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine in his review for AllMusic stated: "the charm of Danse Macabre lies in how Duran Duran seem unencumbered by expectations: they're lying back and having a good time, resulting in a record that captures their silly and serious sides in equal measure. [13] Tina Benitez-Eves of American Songwriter praised the album, saying "whatever its brew, at its core, Danse Macabre is Duran Duran, 40-plus years later, sounding their best". [14] Simon Heavisides of The Line of Best Fit stated that the album's "aesthetic avoids a cartoon rendering of that most spooky of seasons and instead leans into a cool darkness" and found it to be "a stylish, warm-hearted album with a sense of humour" that "takes a few risks and seeks to entertain". [16] Emma Harrison of Clash wrote that "every track can be listened to in isolation, but by listening to the album chronologically, you can see how the band are using music to achieve a balance between dark and light". [15]

Record Collector felt that "for all its dark themes [...] the main aim is ghoulish fun", concluding that "a mixed (body) bag it may be, but Danse Macabre is a fiendishly fun collection that only the undead would remain unmoved by". [10] Ben Hogwood of MusicOMH wrote that "perhaps not surprisingly the new material fares best" and the band's "fan base will lap it up readily, but ultimately the feeling is that of being tricked rather than treated". [17] Mojo remarked that "no new ground is broken, but everyone emerges unscathed". [9] Guy Oddy of The Arts Desk wrote: "anyone expecting a reworked film soundtrack to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre might be advised to lower their expectations". [18]

Track listing

Danse Macabre track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Nightboat"
4:23
2."Black Moonlight" (featuring Nile Rodgers)
  • Le Bon
  • Rhodes
  • R. Taylor
  • J. Taylor
  • Rodgers
3:06
3."Love Voudou"
4:29
4."Bury a Friend"
3:04
5."Supernature"
3:44
6."Danse Macabre"
4:22
7."Secret Oktober 31st"
  • Le Bon
  • Rhodes
  • R. Taylor
  • J. Taylor
  • A. Taylor
4:22
8."Ghost Town" Jerry Dammers 3:00
9."Paint It Black" Jagger–Richards 2:38
10."Super Lonely Freak"
  • Le Bon
  • Rhodes
  • R. Taylor
  • J. Taylor
  • A. Taylor
  • Rick James
  • Alonzo Miller
4:27
11."Spellbound"
3:27
12."Psycho Killer" (featuring Victoria De Angelis)
4:25
13."Confession in the Afterlife"
  • Le Bon
  • Rhodes
  • R. Taylor
  • J. Taylor
  • McIldowie
4:33
Total length:50:00


Personnel

Duran Duran

Additional musicians

Technical

Charts

Chart performance for Danse Macabre
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [21] 17
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [22] 22
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [23] 8
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [24] 31
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) [25] 34
French Albums (SNEP) [26] 88
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [27] 14
Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) [28] 24
Italian Albums (FIMI) [29] 9
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon) [30] 42
Portuguese Albums (AFP) [31] 24
Scottish Albums (OCC) [32] 5
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [33] 56
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] 12
UK Albums (OCC) [35] 4
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [36] 2
US Billboard 200 [37] 57
US Top Album Sales (Billboard) [38] 6

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References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Duran Duran - Danse Macabre Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. ↑ Aniftos, Rania (20 March 2023). "Duran Duran Reunites With Andy Taylor for Upcoming Album". Billboard . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  3. ↑ Benitez-Eves, Tina (30 August 2023). "Duran Duran Cover Talking Heads, Billie Eilish, and More on 16th Album 'Danse Macabre'". American Songwriter . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Brandle, Lars (30 August 2023). "Duran Duran Get Their 'Danse Macabre' On: Stream It Now". Billboard . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  5. ↑ Vassell, Nicole (26 August 2023). "Duran Duran star Andy Taylor rubbishes rumour that he 'can't stand' former bandmate Nick Rhodes". The Independent . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Blistein, Jon (30 August 2023). "Duran Duran Do the 'Danse Macabre' on Title-Track From New Halloween-Themed Album". Rolling Stone . Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "Duran Duran Announces New Album, 'Danse Macabre'". Spin . 30 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "DURAN DURAN RELEASE SIXTEENTH STUDIO ALBUM DANSE MACABRE – OUT TODAY - Duran Duran". duranduran.com. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 Aizlewood, John (December 2023). "Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Mojo . p. 86.
  10. 1 2 3 "Danse Macabre | Duran Duran". Record Collector . 23 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  11. 1 2 "Danse Macabre by Duran Duran reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic? . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Danse Macabre by Duran Duran Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  13. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Duran Duran - Danse Macabre Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  14. 1 2 Benitez-Eves, Tina (28 October 2023). "Review: Duran Duran Deliver Tales from the Darker Side on 'Danse Macabre'". American Songwriter . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  15. 1 2 Harrison, Emma (25 October 2023). "Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Clash . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  16. 1 2 Heavisides, Simon (25 October 2023). "Duran Duran: Danse Macabre review: cool fun seasonal treat". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  17. 1 2 Hogwood, Ben (26 October 2023). "Duran Duran – Danse Macabre | Album Reviews". musicOMH . Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  18. 1 2 Oddy, Guy (23 October 2023). "Album: Duran Duran - Danse Macabre". The Arts Desk . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Duran Duran Announce Sixteenth Studio Album, Danse Macabre".
  20. ↑ "Duran Duran Exclusive Interview". Classic Pop . No. 84. November–December 2023. p. 31.
  21. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  23. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  24. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  25. ↑ "Duran Duran: Danse Macabre" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  27. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  28. ↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2023. 44. hét". MAHASZ . Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  29. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  30. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: November 6, 2023" (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  32. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  33. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  34. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Duran Duran – Danse Macabre". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  35. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  36. ↑ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  37. ↑ "Billboard 200: Week of November 11, 2023". Billboard . Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  38. ↑ "Duran Duran Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
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