The Duke Spirit 'Neptune' album

The UK's captivating indie rock band The Duke Spirit are making their triumphant return to American shores this summer for a string of cross country headlining dates and very special festival appearances. While the Dukes' said farewell to the states for the month of June to play the UK's finest summer festivals including Isle of Wight, Glastonbury, and the Wireless Music Festival, the band's return to the US finds them as commanding as ever with performances at All Points West, multiple Download Festivals, and the New American Music Union Festival as well as a return to NYC to play Webster Hall with friends Supergrass.

When not busy plotting their North American trek, The Duke Spirit has managed to secure the highly coveted TV promo spot for the NBA playoffs featuring Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and The Duke Spirit's track "Wooden Heart." These special ads aren't the only place you'll catch The Duke Spirit on television this summer as they will be performing on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 22nd.

The band has recently finished the video for "Lassoo" off their sophomore album Neptune, which was released in April 2008 via Shangri-La Music. USA Today's Edna Gunderson calls the song "a feral yet glam guitar-blitzed stomper." Another track off Neptune, "The Step and the Walk," is garnering some well deserved attention, heating up radio waves from Los Angeles to New York to Seattle to San Diego to XM and Sirius.

tour dates
7/15 Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up Tavern W/KBZT
7/17 Los Angeles, CA @ The Hammer Museum (Indie 103 show) - FREE SHOW
7/19 Mountain View, CA @ Download Festival @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
7/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Download Festival @ GIBSON Amphitheatre
7/22 Los Angeles, CA @ TheTonight Show with Jay Leno
7/23 San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
7/24 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
7/26 Seattle, WA @ Nectar Lounge
7/28 Hollywood, CA @ Amoeba (HOLLYWOOD INSTORE)
7/30 New York, NY @ Webster Hall w/ Supergrass
8/1 Philadelphia, PA @ WXPN/World Café - FREE SHOW
8/1 Asbury Park, NJ @ The Saint (NEPTUNE Live From Neptune, NJ)
8/2 Camden, NJ @ Download Festival @ Tweeter Center
8/4 Baltimore,MD @ Ottobar
8/5 Boston, MA @ T.T. The Bear's
8/8 Jersey City, NJ @ All Points West Festival @ Liberty State Park
8/9 Pittsburgh, PA @ New American Music Union Festival @ SouthSide Works
8/10 Nashville, TN @ 3rd & Lindsley
8/12 Columbus, OH @ The Basement
8/13 Detroit, MI @ Magic Stick
8/14 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle

more information
When The Duke Spirit first came about, they slipped under many peoples radars. Debut album, Cuts Across The Land was delayed for nearly a year after their record label City Rockers collapsed and, despite being revered by critics, it just wasn't the success it should have been. Lost in a myriad of 'lad-rock' bands, they were overlooked by the music-buying public, though with a years touring of America under their belts and a change of label (Shangri-La), The Duke Spirit, a five-piece from Cheltenham, England -- Liela Moss (lead singer), Toby Butlet (bass/guitar), Luke Ford (guitars/vocals), Daniel Higgins (guitars), and Olly "The Kid" Betts (drums) --have come back sounding confident and raring to go.

In May 2006, whilst on their trek of America, The Duke Spirit collaborated with UNKLE and worked with respected Queens of the Stone Age producer Chris Goss. Having struck up a profitable relationship with Goss last year, they returned to the legendary desert area of Joshua Tree, California to record new album, Neptune which will drop on April 8th. The album will be the first release of new indie label Shangri-La Music.

Influences such as Sonic Youth are still apparent on tracks like 'You Really Wake Up The Love In Me' and 'Send A Little Love Token' which hurtle past you in a midst of distorted guitar aggression, while the self-confessed soul fans tap into the area on 'My Sunken Treasure' as delightful piano and vocals from front woman Leila Moss anchor one of the more mellower tracks off Neptune.

Complimenting uplifting guitars on the first single 'The Step and The Walk' (now at Alternative) is the sort of sinister brooding bass line that you wouldn't want to meet down a dark alley. Indeed, it's not the only track that sounds made for the live arena. All the hard touring has perhaps made them think about what would and wouldn't translate well from the studio. Album highlight 'The Ship That Was Built To Last' for instance, has a climax that could quite easily make it a contender for the closer in their live set.

Liela Moss says of Neptune, "There has to be music for early doors and music for serious conversations,' she explains. 'Then you need music for hangovers, music for lazy afternoons and music for round about the time you're starting to tell people things you shouldn't. And of course there's got to be music for dancing."

Because The Duke Spirit don't seem to fit in any kind scene in the UK, it's been harder for them to capture the imagination of the NME crowd that lap up songs about drunken weekend antics. But The Duke Spirit deserve to be heard and, on the basis of Neptune, there is a determination about them that ensures they won't go away without a fight.

The Duke Spirit return to the states with tour dates beginning on the east coast. Then the band will be touring with BRMC.

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Tracklisting

The Duke Spirit - Neptune