After a three year hiatus, Desmond and the Tutus rear their indie rock heads with their pristinely packaged fourth album titled simply, Desmond. The album is now available to stream on all major streaming platforms.
In the same vein as Enjoy Yourself, The Tutus’ SAMA-winning album for Best Rock, Desmond sees the trio stick to their tried and tested formula of doing, well, pretty much whatever the hell they want to, bucking any kind of song structure or genre convention in favour of being their weird and wacky selves.
Recorded over the course of the last three years, with the final stretch occurring over SA’s recent lockdown, Desmond is a wild and wonderful mix of tempos and narratives that form a coherent body of work, underpinned by frontman Shane Durrant’s unmistakable, warbling tone.
Craig Durrant explains the general tone and direction of Desmond
“I feel like somewhere deep inside, we have always wanted to be a band like !!! or LCD Soundsystem that makes full on indie-disco songs and there are moments in Desmond where I think we finally got it right, especially in the song ‘Difficult’.”
Desmond also sees The Tutus broaden their lyrical-scape to tackle the ups and down of social media (“Hard Work”), and the quirkiness of young love (“Freak Them Out”), while also flexing their more serious and sentimental side (“Guts”).
Shane Durrant comments on still making music alongside his bandmates for more than 15 years
“In general, something that definitely stands out to me about this process of making another album with Craig and Doug is just what incredible, creative musicians they are. I almost feel bad they got stuck in a band with me, but I am constantly in awe of my bandmates and their process.”
With a renewed creative vigour, spearheaded by their desire to make music exactly the way that they want to, Desmond and the Tutus have levelled up with Desmond, a body of work that is sure to reach a whole new legion of fans.
Desmond and the Tutus made their latest video in just 15 minutes in a parking lot
The video for the band’s first single “Hard Work” is peak Tutus – fun and throwaway, oozing the band’s brand of low-effort energy. Check it out below…
The band have also relaunched their online merch store
Desmond and the Tutus has just announced the relaunch of their online merch store. In addition to the regular stuff like t-shirts and CDs, the site also lists a few unexpected items.
How would you like to own a lock of hair from the singer, Shane, or have a poem written about you by the drummer, Craig? Look no further than Des-Mart, “Your one stop Desmond shop”! The items range from cute (a member of the band draws a picture of you) to fun (a private show at your home) to downright bizarre (for a fee, members of the band will harass you via Whatsapp voice-note for a day). The band is even selling used household items like a baby’s car seat, um… ok.
There’s something here for everyone from the Desmond-newbie to the obsessed superfan and in case you miss it in the site’s fine print; every purchase – big or small – comes with a free MP3 download of the new Desmond and the Tutus album “Desmond”.
Watch this space for updates in the Music News category on SA Music Zone.
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