DUZHEKNEW

Photos and a video

http://vimeo.com/11264442 - The Untold City

SAY IT OUT LOUD: Duzheknew is Adam O’Reilly, member of projects Roomdoom and Fall Horsie. Don’t ask me to pronounce the name of his new band, ‘cuz I don’t know how. Take his advice and say it out loud to yourself. Nothing? Well, forget it. Just enjoy. Duzheknew plan on releasing an album in 2010 called “Vanish/Banish”. Until then check out the track below. It’s got that Talking Heads/The Cure vibe to it. Hard not to hear the David Byrne vocal influence in O’Reilly’s yips and yelps. A great driving, persistent piece of music — all created by O’Reilly. Imagine this track blaring over a cinematic scene: Young man driving into Chicago, the interstate a widening heaven, car plunging into the city core like a Judas injection, feeling all cotton-shooter chic and loved; Prince of the City; at the wheel sounds explode, a guitar haze — anticipating a night of debauchery the phrase arrives, “Here I come!” - Their Bated Breath

Duzheknew? Thank you, Adam O’Reilly (for it is he) for creating the band name which writes it’s own headlines.

But past-tense befuddlement aside, Duzheknew seems to have a firm handle on what he’s doing. His songs are… well, just right. They are sharp and acidic and tart. They are focussed and have all the fat cut off. This bodes well.

It Came Out The Other Side, OK trembles with nervous ambition – a jittering, jerky song. It’s a bloodletting, an easing of tension, that shows Duzheknew to be an artist of some ability. The song shines and fades, gives and takes – and we hang on every word, eager to experience the climax.

Duzheknew – It Came Out The Other Side, OK

When it comes, it’s not the explosion anticipated, but a more economically restrained finish. After the building and building, we are buzzing too feverishly to feel let down by such teasing, and too pleased by the preceding sounds to care.

Duzheknew gingerly cribs a snippet of Talking Heads and a sliver of Pavement, but has a swivelling eye scouring everywhere else for ideas too. It’s tough to predict anyone’s path in any instance, but if Duzheknew keeps going, something interesting will happen. Perhaps he knews this already. Sorry, knows. Good stuff indeed.
- A New Band A Day

Adam O’Reilly is releasing some tracks from his fantastic new wave-inspired project Duzheknew on a split tape with Cousins. Says the release: "What started as a home-recording project in a new city turned into a creative outlet tapping into New Wave-era bands of the past such as: Devo, Talking Heads, DNA, and more."

O'Reilly was working in New York as an artist's assistant and ended up teaming up with Aron Sanchez, who produces your favorite band and mine, Japanther (and also makes instruments for The Blue Man Group) to record a handful of songs. He also worked with famous bedroom artist/recluse R. Stevie Moore on a split 7". Now he and Cousins are collaborating on a split tape.
Before you go to the show, go to Duzheknew's website. There is a song posted there, and it is beautiful, kind of like if John Fahey, David Byrne and James Chance were smells and somehow got made into a perfume. Delightfully fruity. It also reminds you of a feeling you had a long time ago. Oh right—-being young!

The release is this Friday, April 9th at the Khyber (with an all-ages show at the same venue on Saturday April 10th) and Fuck Montreal will join the two bands on the bill. There is also a tour with Cousins. Here are those dates: - The Coast Music Weekly (Halifax)

Usually around December the pickings are pretty slim for the bloggers. Instead of new music it is list after list - yes, we will have a few, but trust me, you will want to tune in for some super holiday treats we have - or albums that the plebs wont be able to buy until February or March. I was just starting to settle into that short winter's nap with visions of Kelp's 2010 release schedule dancing in my head when an email from Adam O'Reilly showed up in my inbox.

I've never met Adam, but he's been involved in two local projects I have fawned over (Roomdoom and Fall Horsie if you are asking). A quick glance showed that he's branching out with a solo effort under the cryptic moniker, DUZHEKNEW. The name may be impossible to spell first time around, but the tracks are impossible to ignore. Mashing enough Talking Heads to please the masses with a oddly distinct Halifax feel, Adam's first few tracks are the type of shit that gets me excited about music again.

The two tracks he sent over are only the tip of the iceberg. For these recordings he played every note himself, but when he gets back to Halifax he's going to join forces with herohill favs Cousins to play a few shows, and in early 2010 he's going to release a tape in a ziplock bag on Stacy Lloyd Brown's new label, Drawn Daggers. Honestly, this post could have been as simple as "listen to Came out the other side, ok, find one of your new favorite Hali bands and pre-order the tape right now". Vanish/Banish is going to be a doozy folks. - Herohill

From the Dwindle Kindle of Jesse Locke:
With their 2010 split tour cassette, Halifax heartthrobs Duzheknew and Cousins carry on the Maritime tradition of sophisticated slacker rock (not an oxymoron). First up is Duz with an unlikely yet successful amalgamation of Spencer Krug warble, Abe Vigoda tropical punk and brainy Talking Heads pop. One to watch out for! Meanwhile, Cousins have dropped down to a duo since the release of their debut, turning up the spotlight on drummer-singer Aaron Mangle’s falsetto and knocking all three tunes out of the park. Sadly the first run of 100 is sold out, but look for a re-dub with fresh colour schemes just in time for Obey.
[Levin's Note: I tried to stop doing these "Levin's Notes" things, but I couldn't help it for this one. Been waiting for anything DUZHEKNEW related for way too long. This cassette slays!!] - Weird Canada

As a venue, Whippersnapper has an ad hoc vibe with its makeshift stage giving shows an organic feel. Celebrating the release of a split cassette, incestuous Halifax bands Cousins and Duzheknew profited from the inclusive setting, their layered songs given an instantly approachable tenor.

Touring as a drums-and-guitar two-piece, Cousins played sonorous, angular tracks with hints of Pinback, albeit without the bass lines, and Dinosaur Jr., albeit without the droll whimsy, with the duo's held notes and anthemic aspirations battering the low-ceilings throughout the rousing set. Taking a brief break, Cousins morphed into Duzheknew's rhythm section for a spat of overtime.

Though sharing much of the same line-up, Cousins and Duzheknew shared little of the same sound, the latter dropping all fist-pump notions in favour of meticulously concocted art wave.

After post-punk revival comes new new wave, or something to the effect. In that vein, Duzheknew (aka Adam O'Reilly plus Cousins) touches on Chameleons and Talking Heads without relying too heavily on either. Post-brood and post-synth, the sound is fresh, its dark melodies juxtaposing with O'Reilly's volatile lilt, which, at turns, conjures Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug.

With his crack rhythm section keeping things grounded, O'Reilly had plenty of room to explore lyrical and vocal flights of fancy, which he did with charisma and art rock aplomb. In its nascence, Duzheknew's live show is brief but compelling, offering a rough hewn charm and brimming with promise. - Exclaim!