Duck Sauce, Armand Van Helden and A-Trak's collaborative dance music project, always seems to put a comical spin on the genre. This is most evident in their music videos where the duo has drunken each other's milkshakes and their music has transformed a barber shop into an alternate universe. They've even sent their bomber jacket betrothed mascot sailing down the East River. It's pretty self evident that they don't take the project too seriously. They've released a series of singles over the past six years while throwing down crowd pleasing sets on the festival circuit. So it comes as a bit of a surprise that Van Helden and A-Trak have released a proper album. And Quack, Duck Sauce's full length debut, is remarkably entertaining from end to end. They bring their tongue in cheek humor to the affair but maintain a reverence to their influences that could have easily been lost. There are plenty of filter heavy French Touch references throughout the album, along with a little Dutch house for good measure. Past singles, like their debut "Anyway" and their biggest to date "Barbra Streisand," are included along with a bunch of new material. They get a little help from Chromeo on a few tracks with Dave 1 contributing vocals to "Everyone" as Teddy Toothpick. There's plenty to like about Quack, from Van Helden's veteran sensibility to the duo's ability to know when to say when. We weren't sure what to expect when Duck Sauce first popped up, but we're more than pleased with where their going. Limited edition orange vinyl double LP housed in a gatefold sleeve, includes free download.

• music label: Fool's Gold Records 2014

reviewed by Le Haim 06/2014

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