For almost a year now, fans of Forgive Durden were left scared and confused over the band’s fate. In January of this year, frontman Thomas Dutton announced that the other three members had left the band, although promising that he would continue to produce music under the same moniker. For months, little was released from the FD camp in regards to any future recording efforts. Fortunately, Dutton was hard at work the entire time. A week or two ago he announced that Razia’s Shadow, the mysterious album/musical that has been gracing the front page of absolutepunk.net for several months now, was the result of his months of seclusion. With that, he gave fans a taste of what was to come by posting “Life is Looking Up” onto Forgive Durden’s purevolume page.
Wonderland, FD’s last and only full-length release, was a solid but not quite amazing release. Having said that, “Life is Looking Up” sounds incredibly better than any song off of that record, and if it’s any indicator of how Razia’s Shadow will fare, then the new album will undoubtedly be Dutton’s greatest work to date. Although the term “musical” may turn many of you off (as it did with me at first), I would definitely give Razia’s Shadow a chance. Although the swirling violins in “Life is Looking Up” may sound a bit characteristic of some orchestral production, when coupled with Thomas Dutton’s vocal melodies, backing drums, and a vibrant piano line, the final result sounds like a modern, epic production that is perfectly suited for a concert hall. Add to that the absurdly all-star roster of guest vocalists appearing on the album (including The Dear Hunter’s Casey Crescenzo, Saves the Day’s Chris Conley, Gatsby’s American Dream’s Nic Newsham, and Say Anything’s Max Bemis), and the mere thought of what this album could sound like should get you super excited.
Stream: Forgive Durden – Life Is Looking Up (Purevolume Link)
Razia’s Shadow will be released by Fueled By Ramen Records on October 28th, 2008.
– Adrian
All Things Go 