Liela Moss's rock band The Duke Spirit never made it big but had some impressive admirers. She has sung backing vocals for Nick Cave, guested on James Lavelle’s UNKLE project and in 2008 her black-and-white profile adorned a T-shirt designed by Alexander McQueen.
After five albums of fiery rock ’n’ roll they haven’t officially split, but Moss has had a child and settled down in Somerset with the band’s guitarist Toby Butler (who is also her producer) and is now on her second solo release.
While her first, in 2018, featured more understated singer-songwriter fare, here she sings with force and not a little anger. She appears hooded in Handmaid’s Tale red in the promotional videos. Watching the Wolf is about “a power-hungry narcissistic wannabe politician”, she has said, and includes the c-word among its livid lyrics. Turn Your Back Around is a fantastic opener, racing along over firework drums and a bright synth riff.
Unfortunately, that pace doesn’t hold. She heads instead towards the kind of gothic synth rock favoured by Depeche Mode and, especially on the stately Always Sliding, recent Sharon Van Etten. The sense of doom on Battlefield is made even stronger by heavy electronic rumbles.
The energy returns towards the close on Suako, driven by propulsive beats and jittery synths until a grandiose breakdown featuring massed vocals. Fans of old may miss the guitars in this more modern concoction, but the new digital backdrop suits a voice that could never be drowned out.
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