Section 25 - Duette - Klanggalerie - CD/DD
Just over forty years ago, Blackpool-based brothers Larry and Vincent Cassidy founded Section 25 and continued as a duo before expanding into a trio for live dates in 1978. After some considerable line-up changes since those early years, one remaining founding Cassidy and recent mainstay Steven Stringer have retained Section 25 as a duo, completing a run of successful live shows in 2019 under the guise S25 Industrial Unit.
The band's recent foray into bright and breezy electro-pop provided them with a decade's worth of plaudits and the continued attention of a small but loyal fan-base. But at its heart, Section 25's ouevre is raw and sometimes a little rough at the edges and it's this grittier side we witness on Duette.
Recorded live at a Vienna concert in October 2019, this nine-tracker predominantly covers early material performed with a modest but balanced set-up that reflects the electro arrangements heard during the past few years, but with a rather more brutal delivery. Tracks like Wretch and Dirty Disco sound as vibrant and dark as ever, while the punishing club hit Looking From a Hilltop seems to improve with every outing - on Duette, it certainly 'goes off'.
Perhaps the surprise standout here is You Don't Have To Be Liked To Be Good, a song from recent studio album Elektra previously sweetly crooned by daughter Beth Cassidy. Here the bassline is beefed up, the guitars are shredded and Vin's somewhat monotone delivery recalls brother Larry's portentous drone and improves what was an out-of-sorts lacklustre studio cut. More please.
A few tracks from Always Now benefit from new arrangements - Melt Close ('the love song') and Hit remain downbeat but with an ethereal overtone, while Be Brave lives up to the Industrial Unit billing.
The recording quality ain't high-end but Duette serves as an interesting insight into Section 25's creative futureproofing nonetheless.
7/10
The band's recent foray into bright and breezy electro-pop provided them with a decade's worth of plaudits and the continued attention of a small but loyal fan-base. But at its heart, Section 25's ouevre is raw and sometimes a little rough at the edges and it's this grittier side we witness on Duette.
Recorded live at a Vienna concert in October 2019, this nine-tracker predominantly covers early material performed with a modest but balanced set-up that reflects the electro arrangements heard during the past few years, but with a rather more brutal delivery. Tracks like Wretch and Dirty Disco sound as vibrant and dark as ever, while the punishing club hit Looking From a Hilltop seems to improve with every outing - on Duette, it certainly 'goes off'.
Perhaps the surprise standout here is You Don't Have To Be Liked To Be Good, a song from recent studio album Elektra previously sweetly crooned by daughter Beth Cassidy. Here the bassline is beefed up, the guitars are shredded and Vin's somewhat monotone delivery recalls brother Larry's portentous drone and improves what was an out-of-sorts lacklustre studio cut. More please.
A few tracks from Always Now benefit from new arrangements - Melt Close ('the love song') and Hit remain downbeat but with an ethereal overtone, while Be Brave lives up to the Industrial Unit billing.
The recording quality ain't high-end but Duette serves as an interesting insight into Section 25's creative futureproofing nonetheless.
7/10