One might have associated The Duke Spirit with early-to mid-noughties garage rock, but the last two years have arguably been the most prolific phase of their career. New album Sky is Mine will be released later this summer, following on almost immediately from last year’s shoegazey and ethereal Kin.

Early indications are that Sky is Mine will be dark, contemplative and brooding and, with its eerie tones and reflective lyrics, first single ‘Magenta’ appears to be the perfect introduction to The Duke Spirit’s fifth album.

The song sees the band in determinedly creepy form. Right from the get-go, ‘Magenta’ has a gloomy garage-ish sound, topped with overdriven guitars that create a haunting, unsettling atmosphere. Below the melody, rumbling bass rhythms and interspersed stabs of drum beat lead you through to an all-too-abrupt finish.

Over it all, Leila Moss’ ever-impressive vocals echo brightly, flipping between high-line wail and spoke-sung. Moss has said elsewhere that the song deals with a loss of humanity – demonstrated ably through her lyrics, asking: ‘Who knows where the heart goes?’. All-in-all, it’s a trip downwards, through a beautifully mournful landscape, to an uncertain but definite end.

It’s a million miles from Kin’s synth-y neon balladeering, but perhaps that’s just an indication that, some fourteen years after their debut EP, this is a band that have really come into their own.

Listen to ‘Magenta’ here:

Sky Is Mine, the upcoming album from The Duke Spirit, is out 18 August via Ex Voto Records.

John McGovern
@etinsuburbiaego