Duke Special - Oh Pioneer

There are things you need to hold in mind when reading my musings on Oh Pioneer, the newest record from Duke Special. One is that, secretly (to this point, although it's not a secret anymore) I wish I was him. Who wouldn't want to have hair like that? Who wouldn't want to write songs as distinctive and devilishly melodic, so poignant and yet so playful? Further, as someone with a history of faith, Duke has inspired me more than most in having the guts to step outside the horrors of the faith-driven music scene and simply be the best songwriter he can be in the same, over-populated pool as everyone else. It's been a long journey, from 65DBA and Spring Harvest CDs, through Booley, Booley House (both brilliant live acts, criminally under appreciated by the soporific British scene, through to Benzine Headset, and then through what seems like a journey as Duke, from the early days with a piano, a turntable, and the monumentally talented Chip Bailey on drums and percussion as singer songwriter class and theatric whimsy collided, to this point where Oh Pioneer places the Duke on the brink of richly deserved household recognition.

It's what he deserves. And he should get it too. Oh Pioneer features some of his best songs to date, including the splendid Punch of a Friend and My Lazy Saviour. This is Duke's most direct, even accessible album to date, but it loses none of the drama, the twists and turns that have characterised his earlier work. I remember early gigs in which he upstaged supposedly more established and proficient acts for whom he was opening in a whirlwind of wonderful songs and energetic performances. This is the album which, at last, sees him fully realise his potential in the studio to go alongside that. These songs showcase all that is great about Duke Special, a wonderful, lilting, lyrical vocal performance  sits atop production which encompasses both space and the kitchen sink in bringing the songs, and the world which Duke and his team have created, fully to life.

This is a great record. You will fall in love with it, and with Duke Special, if you just give yourself the chance. Hear it now.

Foreign Slippers - Farewell to the Old Ghosts

"Welcome to the world of Foreign Slippers, where flocks of scratchy birds fly over enchanted forests full of cloth dogs and mercurial musicians, while a bewitching voice sings lullabies to the icy sky…"


So begins the press release for this brilliant new album, one of the finest singer-songwriter albums 2012 has so far had to offer. If it wasn't so, well, spot on, you could dismiss it as pretentious nonsense, but one listen to this intense, sometimes unsettling, but always wonderful and ultimately uplifting record renders the description perfect.


Foreign Slippers, the brainchild of Gabi Froden are yet another band you need to know about this year. Current touring mates of Duke Special, an artist who ploughs a similar furrow to Froden's ethereal and yet indulgent songs, theirs is an album sure to take up residence in the end of year best of lists of the discerning listener. Not as immediate as some people might like, lacking in pithy, singalong choruses it may be, but Farewell to the Old Ghosts is chock full of invention, creativity and musical nous. I am sold. Completely sold. The world needs more songwriters who aren't afraid to push boundaries, to try things. And not just to try things, but to winningly, spectacularly succeed whilst doing so.


There are a lot of great songs here. I particularly loved the pulse of Under Your Ribs, while the more restrained Two People in You is a thing of beauty which must go down a storm live. This is a consistent album for certain, not one to be easily penetrated on first listen, but one to be lived with, to grow in to. Take the time, you won't regret it. Watch the video for the brilliant title track below, and be sure to buy this record!