It occurred to me that I hadn’t written about Duran Duran so much of late. That got me thinking about the new album that I feel like I should have heard by now. Did an entire year of Sundays drift right by? Is it already 2021? Is there a new Duran Duran album coming out? Where am I? I’m kidding!!!! Sort of. There is a new album soon, right?
Thinking back on the occasional hints of new music, I realize that most Duranies are probably excited about the band working with Giorgio Moroder, Mark Ronson, and Graham Coxon – most likely in that order. For me, Moroder and Coxon are certainly amazing collaborators and Ronson has a knack for brining out the best in the band. However, the name I am most excited about for Duran Duran’s new album is Lykke Li.
When Li’s Youth Novels dropped in 2008, it was a game-changer. Pop deconstructed to its skeleton and unafraid of draping a little melancholia over it’s bones, Li’s music haunted listeners. In 2011, she came back full of swagger with the retro-modern classic Wounded Rhymes. The beautifully lonely I Never Learn followed in 2014 and it became clear Lykke Li was one of the most talented artist of the new century. In 2019, she again changed direction with so sad so sexy which incorporates everything from trap to hip-hop elements. This is her Red Carpet Massacre if you want a Duranie reference point!
So, while I am thrilled about Moroder taking the band back to their disco roots while Graham Coxon reminding them that rock-n-roll needs six strings, the idea of Lykke Li working with Duran Duran is what gets me most excited for a new record. The band has worked with a lot of talented artists but Lykke Li is a unique artist and she could pull the band into some very interesting spaces within the pop universe. Her and Mark Ronson recently dropped a red-hot single so the potential is there when the two of them are in the studio with Duran Duran. If you’re new to the Lykke Li fan club, here is a little primer and her work with Ronson.