As a man who meditates on a regular basis, I know the almighty power of doing nothing.  Duke Special has been around for at least a decade, he’s constantly writing and recording something; like a tiny Northern Irish Prince. Look Out Machines! is his first full length collection since 2012’s Oh Pioneer. It’s also probably his best, most complete work for a good while.

In patches, it sounds much like what he has done before: the frustrated vaudevillian with a crushed hat and a broken heart.  If this was the sum total of the album, then it would still be enjoyable, stylish and literate music.  What catches the ear and twangs the soul is the presentation: mid ’80s synths underpinning that plaintive, beautiful voice with the sharp accent. His recent tour saw him trying to recreate all that sturm und drang with just a piano. Sorry, but what’s here works better.

So, with that framework it’s broad enough to encompass the big issues. ‘Son Of The Left Hand’ is religious guilt with a dash of William Gibson. The title track is big enough to call down the apocalypse, with the help of Shakespeare and Betjeman: “What’s done is done, so drop the bomb”.  ‘God In A Dive’ is the best song I’ve heard for ages, about religious acceptance of one’s own kind. Live, it’s enough to make a grown Gigslut cry. Here, it’s an emotional Godzilla laying waste to the Tokyo of your heart.

There is also unexpressed and unexplained sadness here too: “There will one day come a time, when your name won’t shiver down my spine”, “Everywhere I stand, it always feels like shifting sand”. It’s a sad, finely etched, quirky piece of work.  I suggest you stand still, close your eyes and listen.

Look Out Machines! is released on 6th April via Stranger Records Ltd.

Kev McCready

@KevMcCready