When England’s Baxter Dury collaborated with Fred Again… on 2021’s Baxter (these are my friends), the result was hints as to where the fifty-three year old artist could take his sound with the addition of some dance flair. Still, 2023’s I Thought I Was Better Than You was more or less the classic sound of Dury, and it’s quite a shocker that Allbarone is a club record.

On Allbarone, Dury fuses his signature songwriting with the input of producer Paul Epworth. The result is shockingly dance-y and hypnotic. This is Dury at his most “contemporary” version; although the artist hates that word, the record is undeniably different from his past works. Epworth has seized total control of the sonic landscape on Allbarone, and this is ultimately to Dury’s benefit. For an artist who has been releasing music for quite some time now, it is easy to become dull and uninspired with time. Dury shows that this isn’t the case, as Allbarone is his most distinct-sounding record yet.

Opening track Allbarone is an entrancing piece where Dury’s magnetic songwriting is delivered in an almost spoken word manner. The record is built on rhythm more than anything, and Epworth’s influence is felt throughout Allbarone. On Schadenfreude, previously released as a single, Dury gets sentimental as his vocals fight the punchy and almost house-sounding production: “I was in a hotel in Stockholm / Waiting for you to call / But you were off with that boner / Laughing behind my back”.

Dury's lo-fi delivery is evened out by longtime collaborator JGreyy’s ethereal vocals. On Return Of The Sharp Heads, her performance wonderfully contrasts Dury’s spoken word verses, bringing a sense of warmth to an absurdly cynical tune. JGreyy and Epworth’s contributions show how collaboration elevates Dury’s songwriting, making Allbarone a more engaging and memorable listen.

Dury sounds bleakly pessimistic and almost as if he’s a pop-punk singer. While the songs are structured as club anthems that are instantly danceable, they carry the artist’s trademark blend of humor and contempt. Mockingjay, a track inspired by the Hunger Games, is all about love and societal absurdities, whether it be consumerism or performativeness.

Meanwhile, Hapsburg is filled with absurd imagery (“the fat duck fuckers” is pretty creative), and Dury even throws in a couple of disses to clubbers who “drink in the rain” and have “breakfast at the Berghain”. Only Dury could mock nightlife culture within a record that is so
deeply connected to its sound.

All in all, Allbarone is Baxter Dury’s most hypnotic and groovy record yet, fusing his sardonic wit with club-ready beats. Distinct, contemporary, and utterly Dury, the artist’s ninth album proves he’s far from running out of ideas.

order Allbarone HERE