The Duke Spirit - Neptune

so this is one of the many free CDs that have been stacking up lately, and I picked it because I've heard of them somewhere and they have a good band name and album cover. It's not exactly a science.

Neptune starts out with solid, straight-ahead guitar rock - the band's singer, Leila Moss, has a big voice and an accent, immediately making me think of The Sounds. However, The Duke Spirit's music isn't dancey and angular like The Sounds, it's got a bigger, more fleshed out sound, and is a little bluesy. The band is English, but Moss's accent is hard to place, sounding almost Scandinavian at times - maybe that's just her gravelly (and appealing) cords and the production, which gives her voice a bit of a warm, 60s feel.

The songs are unique enough to not remind of anything in particular, and they're solid and interesting, with a bit of sinister atmosphere - "Dog Roses" sounds like it could be the soundtrack for a firing squad scene in some black and white movie. The songs whip by at about 3 minutes each, with guitar fuzz and additions like horns and the occasional glockenspiel. "The Ship Was Built to Last" has a bit of a noisy, angry Giant Drag thing going on and later songs like "Lassoo" and "Neptune's Call" remind me a bit of late 90s groups like Lush.

There really isn't a weak track, and while none stick out as singles (maybe "My Sunken Treasure"), it's a very good record. Each time I hear it I pick out a new favorite song, and I have a feeling I'll be listening to it a lot from now on - there's a lot of variety here.

The band's on tour now, but there's no DC show, although they'll be on Leno tomorrow (7/22). Neptune is out now on Shangri-La/Alternative Distribution. Here's their Myspace.