The Duhks - Migrations

The Duhks are so much fun to see live. Their energy and dynamic presence are undeniably captivating. Their musicianship is equally as incredible, as is their cohesion as a band. On their latest album, Migrations, they explore traditional and contemporary folk music, including covers and originals alike.

Pros

Cons

Migrations opens up with an excellent run of cover tunes – "Ol' Cook Pot," followed by Tracy Chapman's "Mountains of Things." Halfway through the record comes "The Fox and the Bee," a three-movements-long piece that includes two originals and one traditional instrumental Breton tune which, according to the liner notes, is "named after the dance it is meant to accompany."

Then it's on to an impressive foray into zydeco with "Down to The Rive/Jeb's Tune." Imagining a grassrock band even dreaming of pulling off zydeco seems somewhat like a delusion, but The Duhks do a swell job of the task, and the song comes off as one of the best efforts on the whole disc.

Later, on the old gospel tune, "Moses, Don't Get Lost," vocalist Jessee Havey gets to display her incredible command of her already bluesy vocal range. It's always impressive to hear a woman hit such low notes while still mainting a crystal clear tone, and Havey does so with apparent ease. By the time her band mates start clapping in the background, you almost can't help but join in.

Unfortunately, much of the intense energy and magic of a Duhks live show just can't be translated onto a record, and that's the only thing really missing here. Still, the band is a collection of five impressively talented players and singers, and they definitely earn their keep on Migrations.