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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Energetic, but a bit samey, November 13, 2006
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.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect CD, June 10, 2006
A review of a record and a group that caught me completely unawares and then was listened to for an entire month making me a total screaming fan by the time I saw them live in Ann Arbor? Not a balanced one anyway. I love this band. They are original with stirring music to go with intelligent lyric. A new force in my mind that should be better known and recognized. There are NO weak tracks on this album. Leila moves like Axl Rose and sings like a cooler, female Jim Morrison. How's that for an incoherent raving fan review?
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Promising debut album, July 27, 2009
Let me state upfront that I come to this album AFTER having purchased the Duke Spirit's excellent 2008 "Neptune" album, which made my "best of" list for the year. For whatever reason I never bothered to check out the band's debut album (originally released in the UK in late 2004, finally released in the US in early 2006), until now.
"Cuts Across the Land" (15 tracks, including 3 bonus tracks; 52 min.) starts off with the excellent hard stomping title track (UK single). The band formed in 2002 and released many singles and EPs leading up to their debut album, and this album is a result of several of those tracks (such as the excellent "Red Weather" from the 2003 "Roll, Spirit, Roll" EP), along with then-new music. "Lion Rip" and "Love Is An Unfamiliar Name", both UK singles, are featured on here as well, and they remind me of Grace Slick in a bluesy-rock setting (singer Liela Moss is quite the stage presence too, more on that later). This album was released in many different configurations (several of which are available here on Amazon). The US release featured 3 bonus tracks, "Take A Look Around", "So Good To Hear" and a demo version of "Boot Hill". In all, quite the promising debut album, even if not as great as "Neptune".
I first saw the band live in early 2008 when they opened for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, what a great bill that was. As it happens, I saw the band again not once, but twice, this past weekend in Cincinnati: first at an acoustic in-store performance (where I bought this album), and the next day in full-band mode, opening for Incubus, at Riverbend (an outdoor amphitheatre). I was amazed how much better, and tighter, the band brought the same songs (mostly from "Neptune") I heard last year. This band ROCKS, and Liela Moss is a major rock star in the making, with incredible stage presence. Can't wait to see where they go from here.
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