The Duke Spirit
Neptune
Label: Shangri-La Music
Release Date: April 8, 2008

The Duke Spirit are unfurling their second album, Neptune, on U.S. ears on April 8 (Shangri-La Music).

I’ll tell ya, there’s nothing like a UK band channeling the California drone rock sound with a pop sensibility. And while with swirling guitar and tumbling bass is gilded gooey goodness, it’s singer Liela Moss tying it all together with her tenacious tambourine and soulful, haunting vocals.

Stream the entire album here.

This band is highly recommended. The group is playing SXSW and will then launch a full U.S. tour come April. I can’t wait to see them.

I had the opportunity to interview guitarist Dan Higgins about the new album, SXSW and “being cheek-by-jowl with the elements.”

Perfect Porridge: Where are you right now?
Dan Higgins, The Duke Spirit: New York

Gearing up for a couple gigs in NY this week, right?
We have a show tonight and another couple until them.

Then what are you doing until SXSW?
We’re going home. We have a few things to do in England, where the new record just came out. We have some odd shows around the UK, and we’ll hang out with friends and loved ones.

And then you’re back across for the pond for SXSW. Did you play last year?
I’m trying to remember. We didn’t play last year but we did the year before. On our last tour we did record a radio session there.

Are you excited for this year?
The festival is going to fantastic. It’s an odd one. We see so many from the English music scene and industry there; we’re never sure who we’ll bump into. We had a good time at Stubbs last year, and I love seeing the new bands.

Any group in particular stand out?
Last time I saw Holy Fuck, who were really great. Now they’re making inroads to the UK.

SXSW hits at the perfect time, with Neptune out on April 8th. Tell us about the record.
It’s the best thing we’ve done, I think. It has the elements of the first album I really loved the most - some of the most lyrical veins. It’s something we really touched upon a lot more on this album. We’ve written better songs, more fully formed ones that are catchy. But it isn’t just pop; it is but it’s not.

Lately we’ve been into people who’ve written catchy pop songs like Phil Spector. But also groups like Jesus and Mary Chain I’ve always loved who always had good pop sensibility. We’re starting to touch on that. We just go with it and see where it takes you. If it’s too pop, we can’t do it. But we’ve made some bold choices on this album we’re proud of.

What was it like working with producer Chris Goss (Kyuss, Queens Of The Stone Age)?
We didn’t know a lot about him and what he’s like before going into the studio. He’s a very thoughtful producer and really tried to work out what made each of us tick. His choice of music was a lot of stuff I’m into. It’s really quite fascinating what he’s into and the sound he’s into using. He’s always listening.

And you recorded at Joshua Tree, which is known for its remote location three hours outside LA?
Yeah, we were there at Dave Catching’s studio. He was there the whole time, well because he owns studio and lives there. Edmund Monses was there engineering with Chris. He has a great pair of ears there, too. We were in a small town, and we’re English people from London, so it was very different. Even though we’re all from the country, I thought recording for two weeks out there I’d get bored, but I was sad to leave. It was fascinating being cheek-by-jowl with the elements and with nature. It was also hard and weird, sunbaked on the outside.

Neptune has some brass instruments and organs. Where did that come from?
We’ve played with some horn players in the UK, so we wrote some parts with extra horns. There are bands like The Saints — a punk band from Austrailia — who are completely overlooked. The use horns to create a Spiritualized space-rock kind of thing. Jazz and soul music uses horns; it’s a keen way to extpress things through music. We tried to use the extra parts and textures in the same way bands like The Saints would. As punctuations. Sexy sax, you know. Some good tight horn sax. Economical.

If I’m hearing The Duke Spirit for the first time at SXSW, what song should I hear.
Really there’ll all great. Maybe “The Step in the Walk.” We’re going to be stripped down at SXSW, though. You’ll only get an inkling of the kind of power of the Duke experience.

You designed all the sleevework on past albums, but this album features pictures of the actual band members. Except one’s holding a picture of Ronnie Spector.
Yeah, this is different. We’ve been doing the “Duke’s Alphabet” on our Web site, with pictures of us holding photos of stuff we like. We’ve been throwing the idea around of using real photos. This time we settled on pictures of us. We’re not used to flashing our faces on everything. It sends a different message, but I’m not sure what that is.

So a U.S. tour planned for Spring?
Yes, we’re definitely coming over in April supporting somebody. We’ll get around and see the good people of the U.S. playing intimately all over until winter. Keep your eyes out.