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Dampens, destroys notes with feathers (5,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tones down

'dampens' is the definition.
('tone down' can be a synonym of 'dampen')

'destroys notes with feathers' is the wordplay.
'destroys' indicates anagramming the letters (I've seen 'destroyed' mean this).
'with' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'feathers' becomes 'down' (down is a kind of feathers).
'notes' anagrammed gives 'tones'.
'tones'+'down'='TONES DOWN'

I've seen this clue in The Hindu.
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