The Duke Spirit

Band of 2005?

Yeah it's only halfway through the year, but I think I've already listened to the album of 2005 in The Duke Spirit's Cuts Across the Land. The bad news is that if you live in The United States you have two options to hear it: A) Buy the album as an import or B) Find some tracks to download *cough, cough*, because as of now this shit is only availible in Britain. I don't know how much longer that will last, because they seem to slowly be gaining steam in the US hype machine. They were even mentioned in a recent issue of Spin! The sooner the better, as I fell in love with this band back in 2004...

Fear not, because unlike all those other Spin hyped British groups that sound like a twisted mixture of Gang of Four/Blur/Oasis yet manage to still sound terrible, The Duke Spirit fucking rock. I've heard comparisions range from The Velvet Underground to Garbage, but I'd have to lean towards The Velvet Underground at their most rocking moments (they've got that "drone" that all VU fans will recognize) with a female fronting vocals. A sexy female, with a sexy voice. You can't lose with these guys, so check out some tracks from their album, and while you're at it check out their website as they also have 3 of the best music videos I've seen this year and you can purchase the album if you feel like dropping almost $40...

Download - "Dark is Light Enough"
Download - "Darling You're Mean"