Shangri-La Music
2008
Neptune
About This Album
Perhaps it shouldn't be surprising that Neptune sounds so much more polished and cohesive than the Duke Spirit's first album, Cuts Across the Land. After all, their debut was culled from years' worth of singles and EPs, while this album was recorded almost three years after Cuts Across the Land was ready for release. At any rate, it's a pleasant surprise: on Neptune, the Duke Spirit don't just focus their music, they expand on it, too. For the album's sessions, the band reunited with producer Chris Goss, who they worked with on "Mayday," their song for UNKLE's 2007 album, War Stories, and it's clear from the hymn-like opening track, "I Do Believe," that Neptune boasts more studiocraft than anything the Duke Spirit did before. Fans of the band's scuzzy, experimental side will miss the rawness that Cuts Across the Land had in spades, but chances are they won't miss it for long, because Neptune's songs are just as compelling as they are polished. "Send a Little Love Token" and "Into the Fold" show off the band's formidable rock, even if they're not as serrated as they would've been had they appeared on Cuts Across the Land, while "The Step and the Walk" shows how the album's polish sets off Liela Moss' tough but graceful singing.
Track List (try tracks 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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