Duane Hoover has always been brilliant at reimagining the golden age of rock music, that decade and a half stretch for the early sixties onwards, where rock music first found its feet, fired up the newly moneyed teen fan and then took over the world. And it isn’t as if he is merely plowing nostalgic furrows through the fields of past glories; instead, he understands the music of the times so well that he can imbue his own songs with a feeling that they might just be classics from those times that somehow have been too long overlooked.
Taken from his latest album, Magic Mirror Story Book, (which, coming mere months after his previous long-player Wayward Path, proves that he also emulates the much faster work rate of that era), he explores an increasingly prevalent theme for the conscious modern music maker. Without getting into specifics, his song muses on the greed and deceit of the contemporary world, the games that the powers-that-be play quite openly before our eyes, making it both a timely and timeless song.
And musically too, it blends a dark, bluesy groove that feels almost in the territory of the likes of Lou Reed, with the same blend of gritty intensity and social awareness.
“Bias Times” is also a perfect reminder of what we have perhaps lost along the way. It sounds like an echo of the past taking root in the modern musical world, an astute and finely observed reimagining of music that retains the authenticity and integrity of the past while being polished and primed to set higher benchmarks and sonic standards for today’s rock and roll music makers.
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