Imagine a symphony orchestra that just took a couple hits of windowpane. The drummers start trying to kill invisible dragonflies and the strings begin to melt into themselves. Someone somewhere starts to sing…and the group pulls themselves together into a cohesive machine of beat and vibrato. First impressions matter, and Duchess Leo makes it work with their opening track, "Your Sweet Love." It’s powerful but not aggressive, pretty but still has substance. It also sets the pace for the rest of Golden Gray — a balletic audio trip into a sunshiney space – but there is just enough bite to keep it from being overtly pretentious. A dance record this is not, but the sonic prowess of Dan Ryan and Todd Buchler (the men of Duchess Leo) is clear. Buchler took composition and theory classes, while Ryan worked on the production side, mastering music software – and it paid off. Their effort is written all over Golden Gray with an elegant script and a steady hand. – allison levin