Ducks Ltd. – Harm’s Way Review

Some artists take hours, albums and years to cement themselves. Ducks Ltd. is not like the rest. They need less than a half-hour to bring out a piece of real and varied intent. Step into Harm’s Way and let the charming guitar work wash over. Steady, jangle pop stylings from the duo are well-placed and a scratch above those working away in the indie-adjacent genre. Waste no time at all and steer yourself toward Hollowed Out, a sharp piece to listen to when throwing weights above your head. But the perils of using advance streams soon kick in when the song ends, the automatic play switched off. Hold those weights high above your head and work through the silence. Ducks Ltd. will be right there waiting for you to press play again. 

Harm’s Way is not workout music but there is a magic to the shortness of their songs. Times not of nostalgia but of appreciating influences openly on Cathedral City open the door to Ducks Ltd. and the ease of their material. They remind somewhat of The Lemon Twigs, a duo whose wonderfully modern adaptation of classic sounds feels warm and crucial to this locked-in production. Harm’s Way benefits from this, the jangle style within is reassured by the exceptional guitar work from Evan Lewis. Handed standout moments of Dick Dale strumming on The Main Thing, it is both reassuring and monumentally important to hear the duo work in conjunction with one another. All too often, artists are at odds, working this sound or unaware of the works elsewhere. Harm’s Way avoids this and has such a well-nurtured synchronisation to it.  

Nine tracks is all it takes to cement the comfortable rise of Ducks Ltd. Their efforts here should not go unnoticed, the swagger with which they display their charming talents is a constant gift. Harm’s Way holds firm with its consistencies, the timely guitar work is the real focus, though vocalist Tom McGreevy spreads his wings more than a few times. He points out the low points of life as a perspective rather than an event on a misery-laden Train Full of Gasoline and brings out the best in staggering, distorted On Our Way To The Rave. Harm’s Way is built on tempo, their speed and short, brutish momentum is a welcome return to the heady days of upbeat indie kicking against it with rising and ruthless guitar flourishes.  

This is what Ducks Ltd. has to offer. Take the charms of their title track and run for the nearest cliché room, a floor with a red carpet scattered with skateboards and magazines. Harm’s Way has an intense feel of reflective energy to it and its broad, striking guitar work is the fine reward within. Evidence of lived-in worlds bubbles to the top, real experiences dragged higher than the limits of the sky. Aim for the stratosphere, Harm’s Way insists on it. A conscious, breathing backdrop of sincerity and animated experiences. Those drinks on the train and the reflections which pour from album closer Heavy Bag are nothing shy of mellow honesty. It lends itself to spectacular highs and the thrill of living is secured by Harm’s Way, a real bright ray of shining tenderness.