The gift of humorous storytelling has been in the Dury family for many years. In the 25 years since his father passed away, Baxter Dury has inherited this gift with aplomb, and on this, his ninth studio album, he takes it on with a hyperpop pizazz that Brat summer ignited last year. Dury’s new album Allbarone sees his skillful use of language and storytelling given a hyperpop makeover without it losing the sardonic originality that he is renowned for.
Allbarone is the follow up to 2023’s I Thought I was Better Than You and it sees Dury team up once again with Paul Epworth. The pair have become quite the power couple and their work was well-reflected on Dury’s acclaimed 2020 album The Night Chancers, the record that gave the artist a new lease of life and opened him up to a whole new fan base.
Allbarone starts with the title track and features guest vocals from JGrrey, whose harmonic backing vocals work well with the sardonic delivery of Dury. The track centres around the hype of bar chain All Bar One and how chain bars like this have come to encapsulate metropolitan life associated with afterwork drinks in some trendy part of London. To anyone outside of Europe, this might not be as relatable, but given this drinking culture has become a key aspect of modern life, almost anyone can relate to it.
The repetition of “Answer the texts / answer the phone” is catchy and delightful. It really gives off a star quality that reflects brightly onto Dury as opposed to the sardonic and gloomy reflections of Dury’s previous work. The track’s futuristic beat is reflective of the hazy days of Brat summer with hints of italo-disco that give off the warmth and sparkle of late evening summers. This is a track that brings you to any chain bar for that dreaded Tinder date that you somehow “forgot” about; it’s for those with messy schedules.
The second track “Schadenfruede” dives deeper into the hedonistic realms of pop with Dury’s lyrical excellence providing the foundations of a story that laughs, not laments at the mishaps of others, the futuristic beat only serves to remind us of the ways Dury likes to entertain himself as a musician. This is a track of unbridled joy. On “Kublah Khan”, Dury delves deep into the realm of hip-hop and funk with a jungle undertone to reflect its soundscape. This is Dury at his most bombastic, and with JGrrey providing a dreamy echo on backing vocals, it unofficially coronates Dury as the prodigal son, the son who inherited his father’s best skill: poetry. “Hapsburg” is cemented in erotic lust with an affection for the nighttime clear in the mind. It is a drift off from the grimey urban rhymes that Dury is renowned for and showcases the pinnacle of his ability to tone up the experimental parts of his repertoire.
“Return of the Sharp Heads” is Dury at his best with his take down of those people in society who view everything from their ivory towers. Never one to beat around the bush, Dury is sharp with his observations of “soul fuckers in gold labels” being topped off as “total cunts”. The need to vent frustrations about those in society who superficially parade around without a care in the world is something that everyone can relate to. The album closes on “Mr W4” and carries on with the critique of urban West Londonites. There is something alluring to Dury’s put down on this stereotype; we’ve probably all heard of this type of egotist; “He’s a nylon god / he’s a fantasy / he’s Mr W4”. Maybe there is a bit of Dury in him, or maybe there is part of him who idolises that person. Either way, it’s a sketch of a social figure that we know is the villain in this story.
Allbarone is the next destination for Dury as an experimental artist; he’s successfully been able to capture something new with his twist on hyperpop. The result is an intriguing effort that catapults him into the future realms of pop. You think you know Baxter Dury? Think again.
