The Duke Spirit- Bruiser

It’s not often that a band can wait 3 years between albums and still return to a loyal fanbase.   More often than not, fans become bored and flee, with damaging results.  The Duke Spirit have been fortunate enough to surpass this problem, maintaining fans during the wait for their second and now third albums.  Bruiser follows two years of hard touring their acclaimed second album Neptune, studio time in their new London space and a slight line-up change, bringing with it an album that mixes the expected and perhaps some of the unexpected too.  Produced by Andrew Scheps, who has previously produced the likes of Metallica and Johnny Cash, the album is exceedingly sharp but with the right amount of rough to prove that they still are, are always will be The Duke Spirit.

From the opening seconds of Cherry Tree, it’s clear that The Duke Spirit mean business.  Whilst the arrangement seems fairly simple on the surface, there’s a complexity in places, like the short but sweet guitar solos, that give the track the edge that shows why The Duke Spirit are still so relevant.  Liela Moss repeats “I don’t look back” in an infectious manner that draws you so much that you almost miss the album moving onto the next track.  Although this shows the power the first song has, this is also the downfall of Bruiser.

Whilst there is no doubt that most tracks on this album pull you in as they’re playing, once they are finished, they become unforgettable as they begin to merge into one another.  Of course there are highlights, from the heavier Surrender, with its looping chorus hook “I just want to surrender” to the lighter Villain, complete with the unlikely addition of a piano.  This is seen again on Northbound, where the album again takes a dip in speed and we see the other side of the band, a definite upside to the album, as we can experience the variety that The Duke Spirit can clearly produce.  Bruiser ends on Homecoming, a track with a haunting yet beautiful melody, topped with Moss’ soothing voice repeating “I will always think about the way I wanted you.”  A perfect ending to an album full of highs and lows.

Whilst this album has it’s fair share of highlights and genius moments, it’s not the album we were expecting.  There seems to something lacking to push them to the next level.  Still, it’s worth a listen, if only to see if it was really worth the three year wait.

3/5