Duality

To listen to Duke Dumont is to be transported back into the sweaty delirium of ’90s house music, in the days when it rubbed up against soul and disco like bodies on a dance floor. The British producer first exploded onto the scene with breakout singles “Need U (100%)” in 2013 and “I Got U” in 2014, both of which received Grammy nominations and made clear his pop leanings, minding length and melody without sacrificing emotion or atmosphere. Duality is, somehow, his first full-length album, and explores how two of his aesthetic specialties—heady, emotional ballads and geared-up UK rave cuts—fit together.

Duets like “Let Me Go” with RY X and “Together” with How to Dress Well are indie-dance headphone meditations designed to make you turn inward, while adrenaline-pumping numbers like “Obey” and “The Fear” pull the wheels back towards the club. “Therapy” is a nostalgic blockbuster—a flurry of looping powerhouse diva vocals and open-hearted promises—that emphasizes Dumont’s inimitable flair for catchy hooks and earworm melodies. “For me, this is an organic follow-up to my 2014 song 'Won’t Look Back,'” he tells Apple Music. “Five years later, I've matured personally and musically. ‘Therapy' is a representation of that.”