The Duke Spirit — Sky is Mine (August 17th)

          ^{The Duke Spirit — Sky is Mine (August 17th, 2017)}  •   A spirited melding of Northern Soul, garage punk, and noisy shoegaze. “Somedays you just don’t actually know what you are feeling. Your heart and head and gut emotions are making transitions you are not fully aware of, changes are going on prompted by some subconscious mischief. Gradually the sense of ‘how am I’ creeps up on you, wakes you up in the middle of your sleep. The ‘How Am I’ nymphs flutter about you laughing and watch you work yourself out!”
Formed: 2002 in London, England
Genre: Alternative rock, Soul, Punk rock
Location: London, UK
Album release: August 17th
Record Label: Ex Voto Records
Duration:     35:10   
Tracks:
01. Magenta     3:18
02. Bones of Proof     4:59
03. See Power     4:49
04. In Breath     4:19
05. Houses     3:56
06. How Could, How Come     3:25
07. YoYo     3:10
08. The Contaminant     3:55
09. Broken Dream     3:19
Personnel:
Current members
•   Liela Moss — vocals, harmonica, piano, percussion (2003 ~ present)
•   Luke Ford — guitar, backing vocals, Farfisa, piano, Autoharp (2003 ~ present)
•   Toby Butler — guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals, organs, piano (2003 ~ present)
•   Olly ‘The Kid’ Betts — drums, glockenspiel, percussion, piano, backing vocals (2003 ~ present)
•   Rich Fownes — bass guitar (2014 ~ present)
Former members
•   Dan Higgins — guitar, autoharp (2003 ~ 2008)
•   Marc Sallis — bass guitar (2008 ~ 2012)
Review
Clinton. Staff review, 16 August 2017 / Score: ***½
•••   It was only May last year that we were listening to the progressive ‘big music’ of the Duke Spirit’s ‘KIN’ but here already is a new one in which they once again get upset by all sorts of subject matter. They are one of the UK’s most distinctive rock based acts and here plough further loud furrows accompanied by guests Josh T Pearson and Duke Garwood. 
•••   It’s only been a year since the last album from the Duke Spirit and although opener almost exactly replicates last years ‘Kin’ album in its gothy bluster, there’s changes already afoot on ‘Bones of Proof’ which has a gentle folky feel a million miles away from their usual droney rock. It’s quite lovely yet still has that slightly progressive feel as if the DNA of All About Eve has somehow been passed down the generations. It begins a run of quite lovely atmospheric folk music that has taken this listener right by surprise. Tracks like ‘In Breath’ are beautifully observed gothic folk  ••→ you can literally see the mist sinewing through it’s chords. They use subtle strings to enhance the bucolic feel of these tracks which are full of autumnal hues showcasing a spacious nest for Liela Moss’s distinct vocals.
•••   How this sits with fans of their more energetic rock remains to be seen but tracks like ‘Houses’ manage to be both poignant and anthemic with a great earworm of a chorus that despite the mid paced and introspective nature of the track is both memorable and catchy. It’s an album full of twisting folk melodies which unlike the previous JAMC and Spiritualized nature of their previous work could probably have more in common with Sandy Denny’s wooden clogs than any leather jacketed rock.
•••   https://www.normanrecords.com/
DE:
Review
Von Julia Lorenz, 18. August 2017;  Score: ***½/6
•   Indie in höheren Sphären: Die Londoner schlingern traumverloren durch die Nacht.
•   Der „Struwwelpeter“ ist ein grausames Buch, ein Manifest dogmatischer Pädagogik, das Kindern zeitlebens den Spaß an manch harmloser Unsinnigkeit vergällt – etwa den Luxus, ein wenig entrückt durch die Welt zu wandeln. The Duke Spirit aus London scheinen den „Hans Guck~in~die~Luft” zum Glück nie gelesen zu haben.
•   Denn den Titel ihres fünften Albums SKY IS MINE darf man als programmatisch verstehen: Der Indierock des Londoner Quartetts, einst gehandelt als legitime Erben von The Gun Club, klingt hier traumverloren wie nie. Auch, wenn pure, erhaben hallende Popsongs wie „See Power” und „How Could How Come” in Richtung Shoegaze schlingern, stellt man sich nie vor, wie The Duke Spirit verklemmt auf ihre Effektgeräte glotzen.
•   Der Blick strebt gen Himmel, sei er auch dunkel wie im getragenen „In Breath“. Selbst über den Gitarrensumpf in „Magenta“, einem aufpeitschenden Stück, das die Dringlichkeit der Band~Anfangstage wiederbelebt, erhebt sich die Stimme von Sängerin Liela Moss majestätisch. Doch bei aller Lust am Höhenflug erlaubt sich diese Musik kein echtes Ausfransen, keine Ausraster, keine Abwege. Alles sitzt tight bei The Duke Spirit. Dieser Band wurden Spinnereien erfolgreich ausgetrieben.
•   https://www.musikexpress.de/
Website: http://thedukespirit.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedukespirit/
Discography:
•   Cuts Across the Land (2005)
•   Neptune (2008)
•   Bruiser (2011)
•   Kin (2016)
•   Sky is Mine (2017)
♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣¤★↔★♦♠♦★Ω★♦»♠••›♣

The Duke Spirit — Sky is Mine (August 17th)

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