Duke Special - Freewheel Review

Duke Special have been teetering on the brink of a breakthrough for quite some time now, and even big thumbs up from the likes of Jack White still hasn't quite done the trick. 'Freewheel' shows how they can mix it with the best of 'em when it comes to big rock balladry. It has the sound of something that could be described as middle-of-the-road, but always has too much going on for it to be termed bland. There are echoes of 'Silent Sigh' era Badly Drawn Boy here, albeit slowed down and sung in an earnest Northern Irish lilt. A charming prospect at the very least. [Barry Jackson]

Read Dave Reid's review of Freewheel