Review: Duffy's Rockferry

Peruse Billboard’s Top 40, and you will be struck at the dominance of rap, hip hop, and songs with an urban rhythm, completing a trend begun in the ’90s. That decade saw the end of the pop rock dominance, and pop music has been moribund since, despite the efforts of artists such as Amy Winehouse. Duffy has managed to do what has become impossible in the zeitgeist: An entire pop album without one hip-hop beat. An oddly attractive musical newcomer who hails from Wales, Duffy’s Rockferry is an interesting mix of up beat and slower tempo pop music borrowing much from the styles of ‘60s chanteuses while still being in touch with current tastes. The title track is an eerie journey, and evokes a slightly disturbing feeling, like the theme song from Twin Peaks. The first single is Mercy, which is a fantastic song, but is unfortunately the only song on the album that up tempo. There are only a few songs toward the end of album that really fail to capture the originality and familiarity that is heard throughout the others. Rockferry has managed to respect the past of pop music, while showing the way for the future of the genre, if it is to have one.

For Duffy’s latest music video, click here.