Duke Special--Songs From The Deep Forest

I get the two Duke bands mixed up more than I should. The Duke Spirit and Duke Special hold many similarities, and thus wrongly become the same band in my mind. Beyond the parallel names, both bands come from over the pond (Duke Special in Ireland and The Duke Spirit in the UK), both deal in indie rock, and their artwork is alike (to a point). That’s where the excuses for getting them jumbled end, because their music is clearly very distinct from each other. While The Duke Spirit pumps out female-fronted music in the spirit of The Velvet Underground, Duke Special remains raw and quietly powerful. Duke Special is actually the efforts of "The Duke" from Belfast, Ireland. Songs From the Deep Forest is The Duke’s sophomore release, and continues where his debut, Adventures in Gramophone, left off. Heavily emotional and minimalistic, songs rely on Duke’s vocals and commonly a piano. Guitar parts and other standard rock instrumentals are a hard find in the release, but this deviation works well. Songs like "Last Night I Nearly Died" and "Wake Up Scarlett" include sweeping crescendos and overly emotional subjects. This degree of emotional exposure the most outstanding quality of the album, as can even be seen by the song titles (i.e. "Ballad Of A Broken Man" and "This Could Be My Last Day") and it’s hard to detach this sentiment from the music. As a result, the album may be tiresome for one that may grow weary of over-bearing fragility, despite the wonderful melodies and piano pieces. However, the album is very well-written and made more impressive by the fact that this is but a single man working with his own thoughts. A deeply emotional piece, Duke Special clearly sets himself apart.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)