When most Americans think of continental European popular music, they envision tepid Europop, synth-heavy, slick, and wimpy. Their opinion might change after a listen to
Canciones, the worldwide debut from the Spanish group
Duncan Dhu. Spanish they may be, from the Basque region of San Sebastian, but they have obviously listened to plenty of American roots music. There are elements of blues and lounge jazz mixed in with very Iberian strummed guitars and sultry, '50s rock-influenced vocals. The result is a rare and compelling fusion of American and Spanish influences, of a cross between flamenco and rockabilly that moves Memphis a lot closer to Madrid. The quality of this collection of acoustic-driven songs is extraordinary, and this is a great introduction to the band. Note that
Canciones is a collection of material from
Duncan Dhu's first three albums, which were released only in Spain. Since this album was released, some of those albums have become available on CD in Europe, but this release is still recommended. [WEA issued a Swedish edition in 2004.] ~ Richard Foss