Beautiful people - gotta love ‘em, dontcha? They’re everywhere tonight; at the bar, in the toilets... even the bouncers have baby-soft skin (not that I was touching, you understand). With a set of ice cube-cool pretty young things like The Duke Spirit headlining, there’s always a danger that a gig can become a beauty contest - a nasty case of style over content.
Oxford’s Half Rabbits set the ball rolling with a (mercifully) short set of half-baked indie-by-numbers. Despite two years experience of life on the road, they look a little lost and very nervous. Drummer Sally Pelling barely glances up for the duration, as if nervous that people may be paying her band some attention. She needn’t have worried. The good news is that Sally and bassist Alice earn their group a style rating of 7 out of 10. Fashion-tastic!
The Archie Bronson Outfit are a different kettle of fish altogether. For one thing, they clearly haven’t made a sartorial effort, but musically, they’re absolutely storming. Tribal drums drive each song through from beginning to end, and the overall effect is that of Kings of Leon fighting on top of a runaway train. Sadly, the beards let them down in the style stakes - a measly 2 out of 10, though 3 bonus points for use of the word ‘Outfit’ in their name.
So what do we make of The Duke Spirit; indie-elitist, over-styled chancers, or simply a corking rock ‘n’ roll band with a damn sexy lead singer? They tear through a selection of nuggets from debut album ‘Cuts Across The Land’, frontwoman Leila Moss inspiring hip-shaking in both teenage girls and 45 year-old male groupies. ‘Lovetones’ is an undoubted highlight, wailing like the bastard lovechild of Diana Ross and a Jesus and Mary Chain roadie, while singles ‘Love Is An Unfamiliar Name’ and ‘Lion Rip’ are both chucked in mid-set to ridiculous adoration from the front row.
It’s pretty hard not to fall in love with The Duke Spirit, so I decided not to try. The album sounds better with every listen and, live, they’re tighter than a Scotsman shopping in the Matalan sale (sorry Uncle Hamish). But is the emphasis placed too firmly on Leila’s gorgeous eyes, the guitarist’s wonderful cheekbones and Colin Murray’s hairier brother on drums? The quick answer… no. Despite the recent criticism aimed in their direction, there’s no shame in having the right look, providing the content is there to back it up - so a style rating of 9 is nothing to be ashamed of. Plus, the keyboard player’s shoes earn them 2 bonus points, and I quite liked the bassist’s jeans and... oh, sod it. 42,961 out of 10 for a band that define quality.
Rob Barker
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