Duke Special - album review

INDIE POP

Judged on its own merit, this second release from the dreadlocked ‘boho-chic’ Belfast lad (bet you don’t get many of them) Peter Wilson has some fine moments. Opener ‘Wake Up Scarlett’ is a giant of a song, while ‘Everybody Wants a Little Something’ too is impressive, sounding like it could have been plucked from a Gershwin musical. Otherwise, Songs From the Deep Forest sticks in a slightly droopy limbo - short of the necessary grandeur to rank up there alongside Rufus Wainwright’s best, but not boasting such an earthy, everyman spirit as to challenge Badly Drawn Boy for his local-lad-come good crown.