Described as Baxter Dury’s “most melodically direct, futuristic collection”, ‘Allbarone’ is the gravelly singer’s eighth solo album. Produced by Paul Epworth (who has worked with the likes of Adele, Paul McCartney, and U2), with supporting vocals provided by London singer JGrrey, ‘Allbarone’ is proof that Dury has experimented, pushing his sound to a more refined and polished world of electronica.

 Drawing influences from disco and funk on ‘Alpha Dog’, to heavy-hitting beats on ‘Mockingjay’, to the woozy dream-pop sound of ‘Mr W4’, the album is an adventurous and varied commentary on the cosmopolitan and increasingly insipid lifestyle Dury finds himself surrounded by. But he’s not a part of it: definitely not.

Approached by Epworth backstage at Glastonbury Festival in 2024, just moments after finishing his set at The Park Stage, Dury soon found himself at Epworth’s The Church studios in North London, working on his next project. “It’s very critical of people, this album, whoever they are,” he says, “maybe some bloke with a moustache and sockless loafers in Shoreditch, or a fat old Chiswick gangster lording it up in a comfortable middle-class part of London.” With all roads seemingly leading to Allbarone, an ominous, fictitious place conjured by Dury (and a play on words of a popular high street chain bar), we can guess about the world we are about to enter: sticky-tabled boozers, cracked neon lights, and rainy streets huddled with unusual-looking models and men in beige lapels.

Dury's critique of society is certainly reflected in the lead singles ‘Allbarone’, ‘Return of the Sharpheads’ , and ‘Schadenfreude’, all lively tracks which take great delight in pointing and laughing at their surrounding characters, whether the target is in front of Dury, or somewhere in his memory. ‘Return of the Sharpheads’, in particular, delivered in Dury’s signature flat, unforgiving cadence, although filled with such vitriol, is impossible not to join in and laugh along to, with niche observations such as “Big fat Olympic, Ozempic hips / your slippy knees, offensive neck” appearing in his firing line. Dark humour has long been a staple of Dury’s lyrics, and he toes the line perfectly between despairing and cackling—when it all gets too much, we get hit with a line like “You’re just a bunch of soul-fuckers / You total cunts”. If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.

‘Schadenfreude’ sees Dury spilling some bitter resentment about an unnamed enemy, and revelling in their apparent downfall to a pulsating dance beat, whilst single ‘Allbarone’ sees Dury perhaps falling into the very trap that he so despises—sat in a sleazy bar in the rain, yearning for easy love (“Before I’d even met you / I’d booked a hotel”). Is he taking on the role of a character that he’s observed, or is this an admission of something he’s done himself? It can be hard to tell where the line between participant and observer comes with him.

With Epworth producing, Dury’s sound is noticeably more versatile on this record. Regarding the conception of ‘Allbarone’, Dury stated: “I could’ve pedalled the same thing that I’ve learnt to do, but it was a relief for me to focus on the stuff that I might be better at… working on it was an experiment for me… I now realise that that’s what I need.” 

Whilst the first half of ‘Allbarone’ is filled with lighter, perhaps more typically Dury-esque dance numbers, we progress into a darker, heavier sound, following the middle track ‘The Other Me’, which seemingly marks the beginning of Dury’s acknowledgment of his part to play in his surrounding culture. 

‘Hapsburg’ (seemingly referring to the ‘Habsburg Jaw’, a deformity of the mouth as a result of intense inbreeding in the Austrian House of Habsburg, resulting in protruding lips, lovely) is another critique of the overfilled, smug crowd Dury finds himself in the middle of, having drinks spilled over him. Later track ‘Mockingjay’ serves as an unexpected highlight—exploring the culture surrounding current online activism (“Instagram people who post their revolutionary intentions on Instagram stories, knowing that’s as far as it goes” per Dury) to a heavy drum beat and bass line, the track comes out of nowhere and jolts the listener awake and into political action—or perhaps posting about it. 

From his narration, it could be easy to assume that Baxter Dury sees himself as different, a cut above the rest. However, Dury delves not only into the vapid, appearance-obsessed psyches around him, but his own (and don’t think that self-reflection saves him from the evisceration he inflicts upon his peers). 

‘Allbarone’ serves not only as a critique of contemporary culture, but a critique of oneself as a part of that culture; it's all very well sitting in the corner of a bar and mentally slaughtering everyone around you, until you remember you are wearing the same outfit and drinking the same watered-down cocktails. Dury is self-conscious of the position he holds as both (unreliable?) narrator and participant of the culture he so abhors, saying: “as the portrait of the people you’re singing about emerges, you realise you’re talking about yourself: just the same old entitled kn*bhead in a grey nylon suit.”   

This "entitled kn*bhead" seems to appear in the final track, ‘Mr W4’. Another highlight, this slow, dreamy finisher feels like the lonely stillness left in the air after the end of a particularly brutal afters, and the host, Mr W4, is left with his thoughts, dealing with the impending comedown after spending an entire album so furiously verbally decimating everyone else. Distorted voices and slow synths, ‘Mr W4’ is a heartbreakingly poignant mantra, seemingly murmured to oneself as a high flyer in the Chiswick area of West London as sleep approaches: “I’m a nylon god… Mr W4… Making money, 24/7…”

Whilst on the surface he might want nothing to do with the losers that surround him, sometimes it's hard to tell if Dury’s disdain comes from a place of genuine hatred or jealous obsession. At times, he seems to revel in his self-determined alienation from the masses, placing any semblance of guilt for his participation in it onto another version of himself, while at other times, he appears like a fanatic, his nose pressed to the glass of Allbarone, unable to look away. Is he looking through the glass at these low-lifes, or at his reflection? Without this place, where would his album have come from?

And yet, amidst it all, Dury seems to be excited: he has taken a fresh direction, a new, revamped sound. The soul-fuckers have given him the kindling to make an explosive album. “I don’t want to say it’s contemporary… because I sound like a c*nt using that word. But it does sound contemporary… It’s just something that’s brand new for me. It’s quite exciting, really.”

‘Allbarone’ will be released on 12 September via Heavenly Records. You can pre-save the album here.  

Megan FitzGerald 

@the.seaslug

Image: Tom Beard

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