Paper Gods
Duran Duran
(Warner Bros) Two out of five
For their star-studded 14th studio album, Paper Gods, veteran British pop group Duran Duran has chosen to focus more on the here and now – with mixed results.
For better or worse, most often the latter, Duran Duran have always fancied themselves as an arty-pop group. This is displayed in the stodgy, seven-minute album-opener title track – by the time it locks into a minimalist funk march after an agonising choral intro, all interest has been lost. Dancephobia is as awful as the title suggests, laced with a generic house-music beat and a spoken-word verse delivered by Lindsay Lohan. Planet Roaring is all pretentiousness and no personality. That said, the band have not totally lost their touch for a decent melody. You Kill Me With Silence is saved by a sublime epic chorus, while the disco-infused Nile Rodgers and Janelle Monae hookup Pressure Off is destined to be a mainstay of future gigs. Despite its forward-looking nature, Paper Gods is ultimately a backward step for pop's old-timers.