Duels -- Your New Favourite Band

You will understand how a young hussar confined to his camp yearns for ever new stimulation, something to take his mind from the dull days that pass end on end while the generals chart their next bold strike. Music is a fine tonic during these times, and there is much to celebrate of late, but how easily our minds wander and seek out the thrill of the new. We all want to re-live that feeling when we first heard The Stone Roses' Made of Stone, Suede's The Drowners, Radiohead's Creep, etc. To discover a great new band that you will cherish for the rest of your life -- those are the moments a soldier prizes above all others.

Let me have the honour then, my friends, of introducing you to your new favourite band...



Duels are more than the next big thing from Leeds; they may be the next big thing period. Combining the best of Pulp, Blur and Hunky Dory-era Bowie, the band already has a small legion of fans known as Young Believers (after one of their songs) who slavishly mouth every word of every song at their live shows, even though the band has yet to release even their first single. Word-of-mouth about the band has spread quickly over the past few months as they toured England with the Kaiser Chiefs, and this past Tuesday the fervor reached new heights when they played a triumphant headline set at London's Camden Barfly. The band is apparently still unsigned, although that is certain to change in the coming days. In the meantime, we must make due with the demos available on the band's website and await what promises to be the most heralded debut record in quite some time.