The Duvtons

A wall of sound satisfied hardcore fans which were answered by ‘The Duvtons’ dynamic punk. ‘The Duvtons’ mixed smooth falsetto with harsh screams and slurred skate-punk vocals. The crowd chanted the ‘Round the Twist theme song and skanked with the lead singer – even the bouncer had a dance. “Alright one more, then we can all go home to our… mothers!”
- Thick As Thieves

RECORD labels are dying out and DIY is taking over and Melbourne punk band The Duvtons are just one of thousands of bands taking their destiny into their own hands.


The Duvtons, which features former Camperdown musician Ricky Birmingham, independently released their debut album Greatest Hits last year to a large crowd at the Arthouse in Melbourne.



They're taken a different approach with their next batch of releases, circumventing the labels and the record stores to release six digital singles over the next six months.



After recording the tracks at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne with Matt Voigt - who's worked with the likes of Powderfinger, Paul Kelly, Cockfight Shootout and Oh Mercy - the five-piece shelled out to get a top-notch masterer to put that American sheen in the finished product.



"Our singer Marvel has always dreamed of getting music mastered by Tom Baker, who's worked with Bad Religion, Parkway Drive and Michael Jackson," Birmingham explained.



"We definitely paid (a lot) for it, but it was definitely worth it. I didn't realise how big of a difference mastering could make, but you could tell the difference when we listened to the mastered versions."



The first of the six singles Aliens Done Took Mah Sanity was released for download on iTunes last week and launched at a gig at the Birmingham Hotel.



The Duvtons are planning to undertake and east coast tour sometime next year and hope to return to Warrnambool as well.



The punk act has been getting some love from Triple J lately, particularly the show Short Fast Loud, which has been playing their songs.



"That's a highlight, it's amazing," Birmingham said of getting airplay on the national youth broadcaster.



"We're finally starting to get somewhere."



Another highlight for The Duvtons was their second tour with Guttermouth, an American punk band that has been an influence on the Melbourne group.



Despite things taking off for The Duvtons, Birmingham still has time for his old south-west band Feebal Squint.



"We did a gig about four or five weeks ago at the Bendigo Hotel," the drummer explained.



"It's a side project. We're still doing random shows now and then."

- The Warrnambool Standard

Melbourne Punk Rock band The Duvtons have just released their first digital single on itunes, which is the first in a series of online releases for the band that have been recorded by Matt Voigt (The Living End, The Nation Blue and many more) at Sing Sing Studios and mastered by Tom Baker (Parkway Drive, Bad Religion, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and more) in Los Angleles, CA.

After some impressive support slots with CKY (USA) and Guttermouth (USA) on tour recently, The Duvtons have garnished some positive responses from audiences and bands - even getting an invite to tour the US with Guttermouth.

'Aliens Done Took Mah Sanity' is now available on itunes with artwork and you can smaple the track on their myspace page here.

With a film clip being thrown out with at least one of the songs in the series, this promises to provide an interesting alternative to the standard album format.

Check it out and stay tuned as the band get ready to give you installment number two in a series of monthly online releases offering individual artwork and video teasers along the way.

As for releasing anything physical, the band are remaining tight-lipped about their plan but apparently there will be something, sometime, somewhere and somehow.
- Killyourstereo.com

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- Melodic Metallic Melancholic (JAPAN)

In the five years they’ve been gigging in and around the Melbourne scene, the five piece punk/rock act The Duvtons (who comprise of vocalist Mr. Marvel, guitarists The Pieman and Johnny Cannons, bassist Chips and drummer Ricky Rocket) have finally made the transition from the stage to the studio, with Greatest Hits the band’s official debut full-length effort.

While many have made a name for themselves playing live (and The Duvtons have certainly garnished some positive reviews for their efforts on stage), the biggest challenge that faces some acts is trying to transfer that same energy of playing in front of a crowd onto tape. And for the most part, The Duvtons have managed to do just that on Greatest Hits.

The opening track “Yet Another Anthem” pretty much lays down the template that the band’s works from throughout the album, and in all honesty, if a fairly familiar one. It’s fast paced drums, fast paced guitars and a vocal snarl from Mr. Marvel that sounds remarkably like Green Day’s Billy Armstrong. But despite the fact that the band are far from original, there’s something to be said for the band’s energy and enthusiasm, and the sarcasm within the band’s lyrics that makes the music all that more entertaining.

Both “The Greatest Show On Earth” and the mid-paced “Where Have All The Superheroes Gone?” follow along the same lines as the opener with their strong catchy chorus and equally infectious riffs, while the sheer blitz of “Jerry Springer Question Time” is an absolute favourite, if only for it’s chaotic punk spirit and its sheer speed (Clocking in at a mere 44 seconds).

“The Hottest Thing You Have Ever Seen” earns points for it’s sing along choruses and biting lyrics against shallow individuals, but it’s the final track “Colourful Napalm” that really is the album’s truly outstanding effort with its clever use of harmonies and its shredding lead solo around the tail end of the album.

To be honest, just under half this album is a little unremarkable, and probably sounds better live than it does here in recorded form. But overall, The Duvtons have crafted an album that lives up to its ambitious title Greatest Hits than not, and one that will no doubt help the band draw sell-out crowds to their shows across the country in time for their next national tour (OK, it’ll at least help spread the word!).
- blistering.com

Man, The Duvtons are rad! There aren’t too many bands around that still value the need for a great show aesthetic, but these guys do, and wow! They sure know how to pull it off.

While their music doesn’t exactly rate highly for me, lovers of fast, hard punk will go bananas over this band. From the moment they step on stage, til the very last note has rung out, these guys put 100% into their performance. I’m going to use a cliché here: they don’t take their foot off the accelerator. I wish I’d paid more attention to the music, but I couldn’t help but sit open-mouthed as I watched the performance they laid out before us.

From the onstage VIP lounge (complete with arm chair, butler and caviar), through to the matching Hives-like attire, these boys know how to grab your attention. But before you get bored with the visuals and go back to the beer, the grab you by the throat with their almost-too-fast-to-understand vocals, and continual arrogance-tinged showmanship. There’s contorting, crowd surfing, stealing of audience member’s cigarettes, and the ability to use their excellent musicianship to good effect.

The Duvtons are nothing less than impressive. It’s only a small amount of time before people begin to sit up and take notice of them, and it won’t be a moment too soon.

- Talitha