From disco to various types of electro house music and a bit of everything in between, the Duck Sauce duo has just released their debut studio album Quack. Redelivering some of their smash hits from over the years such as "Barbara Streisand" and "It's You", the album serves up a diverse handful of music genres in their new material intermixed with skits and wild loops between those tracks.
A-Trak and Armand Van Helden make up the duo, and in collaboration with A-Trak's own label, Fool's Gold Records, the two are finally releasing this album after years of drumming up faithful fans across the globe. Their funky 2010 hit, "Barbara Streisand" embedded itself in the playlists of dance fiends everywhere and they have continually provided us with dance worthy entertainment since.
The first track from Quack, "Chariots of the Gods" with Rockets, very fittingly, opens with the duck-tastic sounds of quacking before thrusting listeners into a funky disco track that will make you question whether Duck Sauce is of extra terrestrial origins. It is evident through the duo's utilization of sampling throughout the album that the guys are heavily influenced by hip-hop, house, disco, and slapstick comedy.
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The second track on the album, "Charlie Chazz & Rappin Ralph" throws back to some old school dance vibes. The song riffs a high energy smooth disco melody alongside some punchy breaks and old school hip hop vocal samples. The degree of contagiousness of this track is high and I'm positive that it will spread over the dance floors like wild fire.
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The first track that gets redelivered to us is "It's You". The track was released last year and still plays as hot and zippy as it did the first time around.
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhhnUTNror8#t=48[/youtube]
The funk stays alive for a trip back to "Goody Two Shoes". Although it was released nearly four years ago, the track contains elements that take you all the way back to the 60's and 70's. The female vocals are chopped and distorted for one mesmerizing effect. The track wraps up with an interlude giving directions on how to connect with your mothership. Nobody said Duck Sauce was traditional.
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Fifth up on the album, is "Radio Stereo", a new track that is, again, sample happy with The Members' track "Radio". This may just be my favorite fresh song off of the album. Fundamental components of this song are extremely reminiscent of both an 80's sitcom theme song and an 80's pop song. The only thing to prove it is a new release is the uber electronic transitions. If you can only listen to one track on the album, this one is it.
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When A-Trak and Van Helden first got together back in 2009, their first collaborative single came in the form of "aNYway" which has made the cut to be featured on this album again. We've got the duo sampling Final Edition's "I Can Do It(Anyway That You Want)" this time around and if you want to compare where Duck Sauce started out to what they sound like now, this is the song to start at. "NRG" was dropped earlier this month. Alone, the track rocks, but to make the deal a bit sweeter, it was released with two remixes; the Skrillex, Milo & Otis, and Kill The Noise remix and the Hudson Mohawke remix which were released separately with the original mix of "NRG".
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[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWM5D3MwSgA#aid=P-FFv7Ylucw[/youtube]
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The first listen I had of the "Everyone" track had me wondering who exactly Teddy Toothpick, the featured artist, was. Once I caught on to the Chromeo sounding vibes, it only took me a second to connect the dots. Seeing as how A-Trak and David Macklovitch (half of Chromeo) are brothers, David must have taken on the new Teddy Toothpick alias for this project. Funk must run in the family.
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If you call yourself a Duck Sauce fan, chances are you've heard the "Barbara Streisand" song from them before. If not, you best check yourself before you wreck yourself. This track infiltrated dance floors and playlists everywhere after it was dropped in 2010, becoming a song that was recognized by everyone. There's no surprise that this old track made the cut.
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Is it just me, or do all of these tracks seem like they were made with the making of strange music videos in mind? Have you seen their video for "Big Bad Wolf"? That one almost takes the cake for videos that you can't unsee. The musical and structural components of "Spandex" scream potential for their next odd video. The song has got a few prolonged drops and builds and a very high energy.
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The closing track brings it all together in "Time Waits For No-One" where Duck Sauce encourages a disco-house infused dance party with their last vibes of the album. The album fades out just as it opened, with some spectacular duck quacks.
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Although the album featured a handful of Duck Sauce tracks many of us already have in our music libraries, the new songs and skits just happen to make up for it. The new stuff stays true to the Duck Sauce way; providing entertainment, heavy sampling, and an integration of many different genres. After being exhausted by Quack's twelve high energy songs, I've got my dancing fix for the time being. I hope that no ducks were harmed in the making of this album.
