Sign up for our mailing list Real artists creating records on their own terms

News

Wednesday, May 18th, 2011

Anti To Release Album From The Duke & The King On August 2nd

Anti- Records is thrilled to be releasing an album by the critically heralded soul-folk-glam ensemble The Duke & The King. Formed in New York by acclaimed musician-writer Simone Felice, previously a key songwriter and founding member of celebrated country rock outfit The Felice Brothers, The Duke & The King are a potent acoustic-vocal group created by Felice and Robert Bird Burke featuring Simi Stone and Nowell " The Deacon" Haskins.

Named after the traveling Shakespearean troupe in Mark Twain's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Duke & The King create a rollicking undeniably soulful sound in the vein of classic songwriters from James Taylor to Rolling Thunder Review, Fleetwood Mac and Sly & the Family Stone while adding a distinctly personal touch with Felice's affecting narratives. It is a quality which inspired the BBC to compare his songwriting to Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan.

The band's upcoming self-titled Anti-Records release will hit stores August 2nd and is a collection of songs culled from the group's two previous English albums, not yet available in the US. Both records have received unanimously enthusiastic reviews from the British press.

To listen to the song "Shaky" by The Duke & The King, just go to: href="http://soundcloud.com/antirecords/the-duke-and-the-king-shaky">http://soundcloud.com/antirecords/the-duke-and-the-king-shaky>

Critical Acclaim For The Duke & The King in the UK:

Four out of four stars... The Duke & The King journey to Memphis 1966, Woodstock 1969, California 1971, and Muscle Shores 1976 to find ingredients for their stoned-rock-soul-folk picnic... Nothing shackles Felice's cast of chancers and dislocated hearts in which ladies have "sad machine gun eyes," (the bouncy FM gold nugget "Shaky") and "love is a coke dealer's daughter" (the blissed out "You And I") - Mojo

"Four stars - One of the best new bands in America... Heading for the sweet spot between '70s FM radio and the boom years of Topanga Canyon... The kind of delicate lullabies James Taylor might have saved for Sweet Baby James ...a dead ringer for Stephen Stills in his CSN prime." - Uncut

Nick Cave and My Morning Jacket are the most obvious touchstones, but Dylan and Leonard Cohen are also brought to mind, such is the depth of emotion wrought by Felice and Burke's careful approach... An understated gem. - BBC

"These are songs of memory and regret, of reminiscence and desire, songs that reflect on love and childhood and Americaness and, more than anything, on time passing...each song somehow sounds like a classic, each live performance suggesting we are in the presence of a rare, fiery brilliance." - Guardian

Five out of five stars - album of the year. Songs so perfectly formed they may have been around forever... Like some lost classic from the Seventies, Simone Felice and songwriting partner Robert Burke blend Americana, soul and psychedelia with classic singer-songwriting... Simone has the poetic gifts and fearless aesthetic to rank among the all-time greats, from Cohen to Cave. - Daily Telegraph

"A wondrous album. Yes, a sense of loss does hang heavily over these songs -- mainly a sense of lost innocence and the desire to return to simpler times ("If we can only get to Union Street/Then everything will be all right"). But you may be surprised to discover that the music is sweet, soft and, for the most part, hopeful. At times, calls to mind James Taylor or Stephen Stills... The sheer quality of the writing is epitomized by the seductive blue-eyed soul." - Sunday Times

Five out of five stars - Mail on Sunday

Track Listing For The Duke & The King:

1. If You Ever Get Famous - 3:48 2. Shaky - 4:25 3. The Morning I Get To Hell - 3:27 4. No Easy Way Out - 3:05 5. Union Street- 4:52 6. Hudson River - 2:44 7. You And I - 3:10 8. Shine On You - 3:34 9. Gloria - 2:58 10. Have You Seen It? - 3:18 11. One More American Song - 5:19 12. Don't Take That Plane Tonight - 6:33

Bonus Tracks

1. Summer Morning Rain - 3:15 2. Still Remember Love - 3:22 3. Radio Silence - 3:10

Browse by Artist

2112All Artists 100Tom Waits 74Mavis Staples 59Neko Case 51Lost In The Trees 50Sean Rowe 48Dr. Dog 45The Milk Carton Kids
41Jolie Holland 40Bettye LaVette 37Man Man 36Son Little 35Tinariwen 33Tim Fite 33DeVotchKa 31Grinderman 31Islands 29Glen Hansard 28Saintseneca 27Wilco 27Galactic 27Delicate Steve 26Andy Shauf 25The Drums 24Michael Franti and Spe... 24Xenia Rubinos 22Doe Paoro 22Bob Mould 22William Elliott Whitmo... 21Nick Cave & The Bad Se... 21The Frames 20Joe Henry 20Christopher Paul Stell... 19Booker T. Jones 19Yves Jarvis 19Sage Francis 19Cass McCombs 18Gary V 18Calexico 18Deafheaven 17John K. Samson 17Yann Tiersen 16Ramblin Jack Elliott 16Danny Elfman 16The Antlers 16Jason Lytle 14Half Waif 14Daniel Lanois 14Jeremy Ivey 14Madi Diaz 13Billy Bragg 13The Dream Syndicate 12Xavier Rudd 12Peter Silberman 12Combo Chimbita 12Girlpool 12Leyla McCalla 11Ryan Pollie 11Mose Allison 11Japandroids 11Roky Erickson 11Purr 11The Weakerthans 11Lyrics Born 11Glitterer 11Jade Jackson 11Rain Machine 10High Pulp 10Darrin Bradbury 10Moor Mother 10So Much Light 10Alfa Mist 10Christian Lee Hutson 10The Swell Season 10The Melodic 9Hey, King! 9Wynonna 9Marianne Faithfull 9Lido Pimienta 9Cameron Avery 9Josiah Johnson 9N.A.S.A. 9Curtis Harding 9M. Ward 8Katy Kirby 8Greg Graffin 8James Brandon Lewis 8Kate Davis 8Rafiq Bhatia 8Slow Pulp 8The Coup 8Solillaquists of Sound 8Cadence Weapon 7Beth Orton 7Ben Harper 7Eddie Izzard 7Dead Man's Bones 7Kelly Hogan 7Richard Reed Parry 7Title Fight 7Ben Harper and Charlie... 7Elliott Smith 7Alec Ounsworth 6Os Mutantes 6A Girl Called Eddy 6Deradoorian 6Kate Bush 6MJ Lenderman 6Broken Twin 6Bonny Doon 6Busdriver 6Waxahatchee 5Beat Connection 5Kristine Leschper 5Keaton Henson 5The Field 5Foxwarren 5One Day As A Lion 5Scott McMicken and THE... 5The Tallest Man On Ear... 5Ezra Furman 5Sam Akpro 5Art Moore 5Jasmyn 4Pops Staples 4Jackson+Sellers 4sunking 4The Good Ones 4Sparklehorse 4Ersi Arvizu 4Marketa Irglova 3Mavis Staples & Levon... 3Mothers 3Walter Wolfman Washing... 3Sierra Leones Refugee... 3Marc Ribot 3Petra Haden 3Plains 3Danny Cohen 2Jeff Tweedy 2Fleet Foxes 2Various Artists: RANGO 2ANTI- Records 1Simian Mobile Disco 1Tricky 1Merle Haggard 1Solomon Burke 1Joe Strummer And The M... 1Porter Wagoner 1The Locust 1Antibalas 1Taylor Vick 1Rogue's Gallery 1case/lang/veirs 1Various Artists: ROGUE... 1Lightman Jarvis Ecstat... 1Kronos Quartet with Br... 1Youth Group 1Blackalicious
See Full List+