Duke Spirit live at The Limelight

Are you ready to rock? Warrenpoint war-horses The Beat Poets certainly are. From the opening chords it’s pretty clear that showmanship, songwriting and a little bit of sleaze is on the menu tonight and Hot Press is in the mood for a double-helping of everything. Frontman and spiritual son of Iggy and Jagger John Dinsmore seems more than happy to comply with our request and as his band tear through their short set we get the feeling we’re watching a band on the cusp of something big. The songs, such as the barn-storming ‘Bloodline,’ are unapologetically old-fashioned, but the delivery and drama inherent in the performance is what makes the Poets truly special. By the end of their show we’re smitten and we think we’ve found our favourite new band. Let’s hope it doesn’t take too long for everyone else to catch on.
And so, it’s from one effortlessly charismatic performer to another then. She might have taken her sweet time getting onstage, but we’re glad that Duke Spirit singer Liela Moss finally did as she’s a total star. Their sound tonight, although initially a little muddy, calls to mind a mix of Banshees gloom and Pixies pop sheen with much of their set culled from new album Neptune. There are many highlights, but ‘Dog Roses’ is a particularly mesmerising blast of heart-broken sonic goodness, as is ‘Love Is An Unfamiliar Name’.
Even though their gig was over all too soon (hey, they’ve only made two albums, so we’ll cut them some slack) they made sure that tonight everyone knew that the Duke Spirit were pretty special indeed.