Domenica 26 Dic 2010, 16:46
Derek Clegg – Here Comes Your Fate, Quick Duck
November 30, 2010
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We gave Derek Clegg’s previous record (“KJC”) a favorable review. His ingenuity and the fact that he does pretty much everything by himself, from start to finish, is something that can only higher your respect for this talented musician.
On his new release, “Here Comes Your Fate, Quick Duck”, which is once again available for a ‘pay what you want’-fare (go here to listen to, download or buy the album), builds on the same principles as “KJC”. The indie/folk mix works with Clegg’s pleasant vocals.
The album starts with It’s Over which is a very accessible, mid-tempo song that eases you into this record. But right on the next track, The Best That I Can Be, Clegg shows us what he’s really made of. The arrangement of the song shows creativity and Clegg also isn’t afraid to change it up a little bit. He doesn’t use too many bells and whistles, he sticks to the song as it is.
On the next tune we hear a guest musician (Tim James). Don’t Care is one of my favorite tracks of “Here Comes Your Fate..” as it is a song that easily gets stuck in your head. The smooth progression of the song makes it a very good candidate to pursue radio play with. This song has a lot of potential, it sounds very current and could help Derek Clegg find that breakthrough he may be looking for. It certainly confirmed my opinion of his talent. Find It Someday features some interesting guitar stuff but isn’t the most memorable song on the album even though it’s more than solid. Only The Lonely (featuring Leon Harris) didn’t stick with me as much as the rest of the album as it kind of just slowly mutters on. The next song Say Something however is another potential radio release. The song is essentially uncomplicated, with which I mean that it doesn’t sound forced and that the song is quite basic which makes it accessible and quite catchy. And I find myself singing “say something, say something good…” for quite some time after I listened to the song.
The acoustic Stay or Go is another strong song. It took some time for me to really warm up to the song, but the song has a certain power to it that gets to you eventually. I imagine it is most likely Clegg’s vocals that draw you in, in the end. And it’s built up pretty nicely as well. Love This Place features Ben Ames and the song stands out as it’s quite different from the rest. But it definitely is one of the album’s highlights. Interesting guitar work and good vocals. It has the surfy, summery, groovy feel that singer/songwriters like Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, Donavon Frankenreiter, etc. are known for, but at the same time it’s very round and melodic. Musically this is definitely one of the stronger songs on “Here Comes Your Fate…” The album closer The Slow Down has some electronic work to it and I haven’t been able to really warm up to it. I’m not sure if it really is, but at times it comes across a little messy or foggy to me. Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it hasn’t been able to convince me really.
All in all, “Here Comes Your Fate, Quick Duck” is a solid follow-up to “KJC”. It has some excellent songs (The Best That I Can Be, Don’t Care, Love This Place) that really show a lot of potential and may very well facilitate a chance for Clegg to become known more widely. His talent surely justifies that. He delivered yet another strong album that you can give a spin, or even download, for free. And if you like it, don’t hesitate to chip in a few coins to compensate the artist, so he can keep on presenting us with these little treats of music.