In
most pop songs the band tends to cohere in a single point around the
frontman so that the instrumentation provides just a backdrop. Take
the song I looked at last night - Campfire Songs from Carlos Forster.
The instrumentation provides an emotional tone at odds with the
singing but does not challenge it. It is background to Forster. In
duets too the contributing singers tend to take turns dominating the
song - almost never interacting. For me this often makes duets a
sterile experience. In contrast the interesting thing about Trust
from Bitter Ruin is that the band members outright compete against
each other to dominate. Take the verses. In the first the female
singer makes claims about being a drunk and pill addict - but then in
the second the male refutes them one at a time. This is call and
response raised to an aggressive pitch. Furthermore in the chorus the
pair outright sing on top of one another - replicating as close as
possible an argument between lovers. Tis a nice trick. Of course I
recognise this is just a conceit - I doubt there is actual tension
between the dual singers here - but it is nonetheless an unusual and
interesting dynamic. Sorta.
