It's been three and a
half years since The Duke Spirit's
exceptional second album 'Neptune' and six and a half since their
début 'Cuts Across The Land'. With some bands this would indicate a
struggle to come up with ideas. After the initial hype surrounding a
new band – especially one with top 40 singles under their belt –
there often follows a rushed second album, usually the result of
record company pressure to strike while the iron's hot, to cash in on
the initial flurry of publicity. This is the exact reason why so many
artists careers are short, they don't have time to realise their
potential and to make the records they want to make. They're spat out
of the system if the subsequent releases fail to generate cash, which
is the likely outcome of a half baked, hurried record.
Kudos
then, to The Duke Spirit for sticking to their own plans rather than
compromising their sound or the quality of their records. The time
between albums has been well spent, the band have remained active,
touring the UK and US and recording extra tracks for an American
compilation album and for b-sides. Since last year, tracks from
'Bruiser' have been appearing online in various places. 'Everybody's
Under Your Spell' was a free download single, followed by
'Procession', available for a limited time as a download from the
Levi's website, 'Northbound' appeared on the 'Kusama EP', then
'Villain', also free, from Spin Magazine. The Duke Spirit have not
been idle or struggling to come up with songs, they've spent long
enough teasing us, now we get the finished article.
Opener
'Cherry Tree' thunders into action with the familiar thick, weighty
production fans of the first two records have come to know and love,
Liela Moss' rich tones repeating the refrain “I don't look back,
why would you?” and suggesting
they'd rather we didn't compare 'Bruiser' to past glories, but it's
difficult not to. Despite the line-up reshuffle that followed
'Neptune' this is still unmistakeably a Duke Spirit album. The
trademark fusion of blues, garage rock and soul has remained
untouched. The lyrics are dark and ponderous, often lamenting
unrequited love and missed opportunities. Songs such as 'Villain' and
'Bodies' suggest a trouble soul was behind their creation, in fact
emotions are high and intense throughout. The piano led 'De Lux'
being a particular highlight, it's one of the most beautiful ballads
you'll hear all year. Single 'Everybody's Under Your Spell' is
probably the album's key moment, distilling everything that's great
about the band into three and a half glorious minutes.
So
is 'Bruiser' a match for 'Neptune'? Well, not quite. Recent single
'Surrender' is The Duke Spirit by numbers, there is no great pop
moment such as 'My Sunken Treasure' and overall this is a collection
of songs rather than the complete, part concept album that preceded
it, and it doesn't end with a raucous climax a la
'Neptune', instead drifting off into the ether with the pretty
'Homecoming'. If we take notice of the request not to look back and
judge this in an objective manner, what we have is a superb record
with a lush, full sound and some tremendous songwriting by a group
who unarguably know what they're doing and exactly how they should
sound. The Duke Spirit plough their own furrow, how and when they
want to, ignoring current trends and outside pressure – something
that's all too rare these days. Quite simply, they're one of the best
bands we have. The next three years can't pass quickly enough.
The Duke Spirit - Everybody's Under Your Spell by buzzbands
The Duke Spirit's website
The Duke Spirit's website
Buy the album.
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