Duality

Editorial Reviews
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Truly risk-taking popular music is hard to find, often buried beneath a mound of play-it-safe "alternative" rock or formulaic electronica. The risk inherent in doing something truly unique is in being tagged "pretentious," an insult almost worse than being called just plain "bad." England's In the Nursery walk a very fine line between the worlds of pop and classical music, making themselves broad targets for archers poised with the "pretentious" arrow. But what ITN almost always do, album after album, is succeed in creating glorious beauty--music so cinematic and lush as to almost spoil your taste for anything else. Duality, originally released in 1992 and remastered with two bonus mixes for this 1999 reissue, is a perfect example of the soundtrack-like work at which twin brothers Klive and Nigel Humberstone excel. Much like its predecessor, 1991's Sense, Duality takes the listener through a self-contained world of swelling (but never cloying) strings, melancholic piano, crisp snare, and rumbling timpani, accented here and there by the ethereal French vocals of Dolores Marguerite C. Duality's brilliant contribution to the ITN catalog was the introduction of classic British poetry to the mix. The Humberstones sample liberally from an old Richard Burton spoken-word album and throw his richly textured voice atop their larger-than-life musical tapestries; it's a perfect fit (check out "Corruption," on which Burton reads John Donne's sonnet "A Feaver" to spine-chilling effect) and a tactic they would use more fully on their magnum opus, 1994's Anatomy of a Poet. Duality's other highlights include "Belle Epoque," the disc's uplifting opener, and the title track, a darkly powerful symphony that builds in emotion and drama to a spectacular climax. ITN provide the music; you provide the imaginary film. --Steve Landau

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