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Not many albums start with forty seconds worth of existentially positive affirmation. It’s a narrow field, occupied by… well, probably not many, but it works, lulling us into a false sense of passivity before the spirited assault of Send A Little Love Token begins to disorientate. All fuzzed-up guitars and jagged, driving piano, it’s a spirited shot across the bows, aimed at a former lover who’s now deemed “so cold I bet you’d never even burn”. Finding her stride on track three, The Step and The Walk, Leila Moss stalks like a wounded feline, lashing out at an incessant beat, juxtaposed with stabbing guitars and vintage Motown “wooo-oo-oo-oo” harmonies. This sense of tension gives a dramatic swing to the song, and it’s this effect, recurrent through much of the record (Neptune’s Call, Lassoo and Into The Fold to name a few), which garnishes Neptune with its unique character.
The reflective My Sunken Treasure reveals an exquisite pop sensibility, affording Moss her classic ‘60s chanteuse moment - but, crucially, without a hint of affectation. This, coupled with the elegiac Sovereign, This Ship Was Built To Last and Wooden Heart - a mournful, yet soulfully meditative piece, which marries subtle horns with a Kevin Shields-esque wall of droned-out guitars - gives Neptune the kind of balance and depth which was only really hinted at on their debut Cuts Across The Land.
There’s a narrative here that suggests the band would be happy for Neptune to be added to the ‘Heartbreak Records’ canon; much of it’s addressed to an omnipresent ‘you’, and there’s the overarching sense that Moss & Co know there are bridges to be burned. And one such is with the current surfeit of bands who, albeit in possession of a similar palette of influences, do not have The Duke Spirit’s sense of colour and lyrical flourish.
In 'Neptune's dramatic fusion of droned-out guitars, sharp brass and sultry, soulful vocal, The Duke Spirit have delivered a confident, authoritative and literate collection of songs that reward and reveal new depths with every listen.
