Cuts Across the Land [Extra tracks]

Duke Spirit | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Extra tracks
• Label: Vagrant Records
• ASIN: B000EDWLFA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #70,621 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

International pressing. Cut Across The Land is an album sizzling in sounds not dead. Remember Mazzy Star, Jesus and the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and the Velvet Underground? Well, if not, you have missed on a powerful time in rock’n’roll. Cuts Across The Land is a full album of well rounded tracks from dirty blues to sexy rock’n’roll. It’s made of the stuff that lasts, the stuff with soul, and as the indie kid bands return to university to grow up a little bit, The Duke Spirit will continue to have an audience in any country in the world forever more. Universal. 2005. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Energetic, but a bit samey, November 13, 2006

By 

byrner (The South) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cuts Across the Land (Audio CD)

Duke Spirit is supposed to be the "latest greatest" emerging British band. Their songs are lively and highly energetic, the band is fun to watch (on YouTube, anyway). The down side is, I find I can't listen to the whole album without getting antsy. They're certainly likable, with a sound derived (to my ears) from Siouxsie and the Banshees. But all the same, the tracks fly by and are mostly indistinguishable from one another. A cut or two from Duke Spirit is a great way to spend a few minutes, but after that I start flipping through CDs looking for something else. "Love Is an Unfamiliar Name" is my favorite track, but if you don't like that one, well there are 14 more that sound just like it--take your pick. All in all, Cuts Across the Land has its charms, just not five stars worth of them.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Debut! It's growing and growing on me., July 1, 2005

By 

Brandon Hoaglin "kida2812" (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuts Across the Land (Audio CD)

I heard about this band from reading a pitchfork review. They said it sounds like "Yeah Yeah Yeah's" and "The Kills". I can see the comparison, but it's not the greatest description.
I would say they sound like PJ Harvey fronting Black Rebel Motorcycle Club....but better.
When I first bought the album, I wasn't able to listen to it the way I listen to an album before judging it. When I finally got a chance to sit and listen to it by myself, I was blown away. The vocals are fantastic and the instruments blend great! The only things that prevent this from being a 5 star album is the lyrics aren't always great and I wish it would have been recorded more dry and rough. When you make an album like this it needs to sound as dirty as what the music is. That's what I love about Yeah Yeah Yeah's:Fever to Tell, the production fits.
I'm rambling, so let me just get a couple more things in about the album:
1. There isn't a bad song on the album.
2. Not many british bands sound like this (especially in London)
3. Get the bonus disc version, it's a couple of extra bucks, but worth it. Great demo and live releases.
4. Female vocals are great in dirty, sinister, dark albums.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What it says... and live too., June 5, 2005

By 

R. P. Greenhalgh "Richard P. Greenhalgh" (Frome, Somerset, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cuts Across the Land (Audio CD)

The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across The Land
This `Special Edition' of `Cuts Across The Land, which has a bonus CD of live sessions, will cost a little more but I reckon it is well worth it.
This album was released in the UK three weeks ago, along with the normal version, after much anticipation. It is the debut LP from five-piece `The Duke Spirit' and it certainly doesn't disappoint. This edition is the one I bought and I also had the good fortune to see the band live at the London Astoria on May 21. I had high expectations and could have been heading for a big disappointment but I was blown away...

The heavier end of indie rock perhaps isn't something that the UK has been famous for these last few years but just maybe The Duke Spirit will change that? One thing that makes them slightly different is their lead singer, and main lyricist. Forget direct comparisons to other artists right now! The band are talented and amazingly versatile, which is just as well, because Liela Moss is the glue that makes `Duke Spirit' stick. Her vocals cut across the wall of noise of the harder tracks and infuse the slower numbers equally - she also adds some harmonica playing to `Hello to the Floor' (and would play drums too if given half a chance) - and that's just on the CD.

I thought about reviewing each track but decided it would only reflect my current personal preferences. My suggestion would be to get a group of like-minded friends over to listen to it and then play a game of "suggest the influences". Track #7 Fades the Sun is as heavy as this album gets and it reminded me of something from long ago but it took me ages to remember exactly what. The shocking truth, when it came, was the album `Glory Road' by Gillan (1980). If you like Cuts Across The Land and get the chance to see them live don't think twice; just buy a ticket and go!
So close to 5-stars for me but ultimately you decide.

Richard