It’s hard to believe it’s been over 40 years since Duran Duran released their debut album. Future Past, the group’s most recent album, was released on Oct. 22.

On the band’s first album in six years, they show they still have it. Tracks like “All of You,” or the title track “Future Past,” still keep the 80s feel, whereas songs like “Invisible,” or “Give It All Up,” hold the sounds of today, hence the title of the album, Future Past. Duran Duran co-produced the album with Erol Alkan, Peter Karlsson, and Giorgio Moroder. 

Guest appearances are common on this album. “Give It All Up” features Tove Lo, “Hammerhead,” features Ivorian Doll, “More Joy!,” features Japanese pop band Chai, and “Falling,” features Mike Garson. Blur’s Graham Coxon played guitar for the album. Coxon also co-wrote the songs, which is a big Duran Duran tradition in the songwriting process. 

The singles  “More Joy!,” and “Invisible,” came out way before the album itself. Both songs were hits, with their catchy intros and memorables lyrics.These singles have really fun, interesting moments at the end of both songs where the background music gets quiet and muffled, and gradually gets more clear and loud towards the end of the songs. Both are poppy songs with nice keyboards, rubbery bass lines, and simple drum lines. 

“Give It All Up,” is also a very fun, poppy song. The fast drums drive the song, with some nice guitar riffs intertwined. Synths and keyboards really take their stance during the chorus, but die out a bit during verses. If Duran Duran and Tove Lo collaborated again. Simon Le Bon, the lead singer for the group, and Lo harmonize very well together during the chorus.

“Falling,” features Mark Garson, who plays the piano on this track for a jazz lounge sound. The song picks up in tempo around two minutes in, adding a more upbeat feel. The drums remain simple, and the bass isn’t as prominent in this song as it is in “Invisible,” or “More Joy!”. There is a nice downward rolling glissando on the piano, which further increases the jazzy feel. 

The title track, “Future Past,” definitely has an early influence. It is almost as though I could hear the early synthesizer pioneers, such as Kraftwerk, or even Gary Numan. The drums are very soothing, with a lot of hits on the open high hat and snare drum. The bass is rubbery, and tells a story, as all bass lines should. The guitar here seems closely related to another Duran Duran song, “Save A Prayer,” from the album Rio. 

Duran Duran has done an amazing job at making this album feel as though the year was 1981, while also maintaining a futuristic sound. Having a mesh of sounds like that really has a positive influence because it reinforces the sounds of yesterday, mixed with the beats of today.

 It shows modern teenagers that a 40 year old band can do what the new artists do, and it shows the teens of the 80s that they can be teleported right back to their room, listening to old records with the click of a button.