The Duke Spirit
Neptune
February 4th 2008
Shangri-La
This British five-piece has influences from all over the place, but their special spark endows their music with a sort of badass fascism. The Duke Spirit’s Neptune is tinged with retro late 80’s/early 90′s British invasion guitar riffs and is speckled with the occasional My Bloody Valentine noise wall and Jesus and Mary Chain backbeat. Even so, their subtle homage does nothing to discount their definition amongst the myriad of chick fronted car wrecks that have plagued so-called indie rock bands for a while now. First off Liela Moss’ voice has a seductive working class quality. She sings about love and loss with equal commitment. But this ain’t no one lady show. The fuzz bass and crunchy guitar make their style incredibly voluminous, cradling Moss’ words. Each part does not compete with the other. The strong personalities within the band do not self destruct.
“When nothing’s fluid, you drink yourself through it”
The solidarity in purpose that The Duke Spirit displays is however tempered and relegated by their inability to transgress multiple contexts. I can’t complain, but what else are they good for besides a good time? At times Liela Moss sounds like Sheila Nicholls with thigh-highs and a neat whiskey. Fortunately, even with all the abundant emotion, The Duke Spirit never attempts to be deeper than an afterthought. Neptune describes a life where two weeks is a million years and problems last only as long as you are consciously able to think them through. This band has toured relentlessly and certainly deserves attention. The Duke Spirit might however be doomed to burn out before they fade away or even worse to transform from an exciting fascination to that drunken bitch that never leaves you alone. But I’ll love them for now.
-FF
http://www.dukespirit.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedukespirit
Other Music
Darling You’re Mean EP- 2003
Roll, Spirit, Roll EP- 2003
Relieve the Distressed EP- 2005
Cuts Across the Land- 2005
Covered in Love EP- 2006
Ex-Voto EP- 2007
Tour
May 7th 2008 @ Conan O’Brien- New York, NY
May 8th 2008 @ Crystal Ballroom- Portland, Oregon
May 10th 2008 @ The Troubadour- Los Angeles
More Dates on Myspace
