Album Review: The Soho Dukes - "Bar Fights & Tuppenny Uprights"

 

Hailing from the South Coast, the Soho Dukes are one of those bands who appear to have inadvertently teleported into 2021 from some dingy Soho glam rock club circa 1988. Their Steve Marriott indebted tales of drinking den debauchery complete with piano and sax would have sat nicely on a bill with the Quireboys or the Dirty Strangers back in the day.

It's easy to be cynical about music like this for being derivative but there's no denying these ne'er-do-wells are a bunch of charmers with a keen ear for a good chorus and a hook that'll have you tapping your foot and singing along in no time. Ol' Spike would no doubt tip his whiskey glass and nod in approval at the likes of Angel Walk and X-Ray Eyes. The gentle acoustic led strum of T-Shirt meanwhile is reminiscent of one of Darrell Bath's old Crybabys numbers and Weekend Millionaire could almost be a great lost late '70s Ian Hunter solo track.

Sure, the Soho Dukes are never gonna be a band who'll ever win any awards for originality but there's something undeniably likeable about Bar Fights & Tuppenny Uprights that'll put a smile on your face. Exactly the sort of songs that'll go down well with a pint of whatever your poison is, this is simple good time rock 'n' roll that passes 45 minutes very nicely indeed.

Bandcamp Link

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

Comments

  1. Unknown21 December 2021 at 19:13

    such a brilliant reminiscent album of tunes fabulous lyrics and sharp guitars. brilliant live and a lovelier bunch of gents you couldn't get in a band. not a duff track on there. Steve Marriott , Rod and the faces.. 70's revisited very originally. Buy this record turn up loud do nothing else...your spirits will be lifted

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  2. Shank Gig24 December 2021 at 22:36

    The Cheeky cockney delivery of the Small Faces, but they're not the Small Faces. The good times Rock n Roll vibes, with (occasional) Rod'ish vocal tones, but they ain't the Faces. Lyrics that paint quirky and quintessential pictures of England reminiscent of the Kinks, but the Kinks they are not. The punkish poetic observances of Ian Dury but these guys sound nothing like the Blockheads, and while they follow Madness in their tradition of fun time eccentric Englishness they are nothing like the nutty boys either. Add in an echo of The Quireboys and what do you call music that draws on all this and lots more too? It's called Rock and Roll (r.i.p Levon), and it's original Rock and roll at that!

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