Stream The Duke Spirit KIN (Stereogum Premiere)

Stream The Duke Spirit KIN (Stereogum Premiere)

The world hasn’t heard from soulful, shoegazey London rockers the Duke Spirit in half a decade, but they’re back tomorrow with KIN, their first album since 2011’s Bruiser. Recorded late last year with Cocteau Twins/Snowbird member and Bella Union Records co-founder Simon Raymonde, KIN features an array of guest performers including Mark Lanegan, Archie Bronson Outfit’s Sam Windett, PJ Harvey collaborator Terry Edwards (also of Gallon Drunk), Hackneys Deep Throat Choir, and Mara Caryle.

But none of those stars outshine the Duke Spirit themselves, who return confidently, in full control of their sound. Inspired by family upheaval, including the arrival of guitarist-keyboardist Luke Ford’s firstborn child the same week singer Liela Moss lost her stepmother, these songs somehow manage to be lush and spongey while also swaggering along with a muscular grace. And when they quiet down, as on the majestic ballad “Wounded Wing” and the whispery yet expansive “Pacific,” they reveal that this band has discovered new dimensions during their time away. Hear the whole album below, a day ahead of its official release.

KIN is out tomorrow, 5/6. UK and EU fans can pre-order via iTunes in standard and deluxe versions, while everyone else around the world can get it through PledgeMusic.

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