There is a long tradition of London-based swaggering rock ‘n’ roll bands, with a heyday in the 1970s but continuing nicely to this day. Relative newcomers Soho Dukes deserve their place in the upper reaches of the current league table.
Soho Dukes – Nighthawks, Acrobats And Everything Under The Moon
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Liz Medhurst
You cannot fail but to be cheered up when a well-done slice of pub rock crosses your path, and Soho Dukes deliver this and much more.
Since forming in 2017, the Londoners with a sharp line in hats have delivered three albums – Bar Fights & Tuppenny Uprights, followed by Golden Age Of The Barber’s Chair, and now their best yet, Nighthawks, Acrobats And Everything Under The Moon.
These album names are wonderfully evocative. You can sense the pubs, the bars, the streets, and the atmosphere of proper London and can make a good guess as to what they sound like.
Of course, you may be bringing to mind names such as Mott The Hoople, Ian Dury, The Small Faces and so on when you listen to this album, but that is merely to situate Soho Dukes. There is plenty of originality here, and more than that, this is top-grade rollicking rock ‘n’ roll.
The album opens with Nighthawks And Acrobats, which really does set the scene, and not solely due to the “Roll up” theme. There is a huge list of name-checking British icons transporting us back to a golden age of telly, along with muscular rhythms, lively guitars, lovely piano, the sound filled out with BVs and saxophone and a touch of cowbell too. All themes which are carried through the entire album.
Keep going, though, as while this track leads us into the atmosphere beautifully, there are plenty more delights to come. As well as the ’70s rhythm and blues, you can feel the bloodline influences of classic rock, punk, possibly hints of Britpop, with an ear for a darn good tune, with not an ounce of surplus fat to be seen anywhere.
Johnny Barracuda’s vocals are spot on in atmosphere, taking us through these vignettes and slices of life, excelling at storytelling and sucking you right into the scene, bringing all the characters to life in magnificent colour.
There are not one but two guest stars on the album, and they both appear on the same track. As a contrast to the London accent, guest star Spike from Quireboys delivers the brown-ale-soaked ballad A Stone’s Throw In his broad Geordie tones, with legend Dave “Bucket” Colwell adding a heart-tugging emotional guitar solo. It is such a heady and rich song that you feel afterwards as if you have been soaked in brandy like Christmas pudding fruit.
Check out Elaine too, an incredible romp which once more showcases how well all the band work together with Bomber’s bass runs complementing Col ‘The Duke’ Foster and Si Leach’s guitars underpinned with the thumping drums of Age Blackwell.
On top of all this, there is Swerve on keys, who, as well as playing excellent classic rock, adds the sort of honky tonk, stomping, sing-a-long style you can expect from a good ol’ knees up round the pub piano, but, crucially, in tune. It sounds so much better this way.
This album gets better with every listen. Brilliantly performed, brilliantly produced. Nighthawks, Acrobats And Everything Under The Moon is forty-five minutes and ten tracks of joy. Do yourself a favour and indulge.
