hasn't recorded in the last two years, the rest of the tracks - all of them - fucking rip in that Florida / San Diego drunk-core way. By that description, you know whether you'd like it. And if you don't think you would, you should probably go to another Web site.
epunk-zine
If I like a band they make my play list. I am a nazi when it comes down to what makes the list. So far I have not been disappointed and to my surprise this cd has not made my shitlist. On to the review.
So I received another package from our beloved editor at epz. And I thought to myself, "Man I prob got another package of shit", but to my surprise it was not what I expected. When I first put this cd on, I didn’t know what to expect. The first 4 songs from Hillsborough Florida’s Dukes blew me away. I listened to this album over and over again, to see if I can find any faults, and I have not. The Dukes have a unique style, which I have never heard, and it was instant euphoria to for my ears. The dukes are definitely an eye opener for anyone who has doubted the hidden talents of Florida. They are def in my play list. Their style reminds me of a mixture of how water music and fugazi. Now im not a big fan of either of those bands, but this combo def works for me. You get screaming vocals and awesome music in one (and clearly song lyrics holly shit you can actually understand them :) unlike one of the other bands I just listed).
Now on to Altaira. This band has become a personal favorite of mine, in the last three days that I have been listening to this cd. I can’t stop listening to it (oh yah and also expect a bad ass review for their cd as well). They sing with their hearts and you can tell they are giving all they can when they play. To my surprise Altaira has only one full-length cd out on add record (hopefully they will have some more releases in the future). This San Diego band is up in the air from the looks of their website. Hopefully times have not gotten to hard for this four-member band. If times are hard for them, you rat bustards need to go out and buy some albums! This album is well worth it. Check these guys out; they will leave a lasting impression on you, like a hooker with cold hands.
NeuFutur
The Dukes of Hillsborough play a Pulley/Rise Against style of sped-up emo/punk that recalls the best days of The Replacements and Husker Du. “Beerito” starts off their section of the split, and Jeff’s vocals are just as responsible for pushing the tracks to a whole new tempo, matching well with the equally scratchy guitars. Continuing their break-neck style for “Danica McKeller”, the Dukes of Hillsborough are the golden children, incapable of making anything in the way of errors on the disc. The track lengths found are optimum – long enough to get a feel for the band but not long enough to bore listeners with repetitive riffs. Changing up their style enough to allow some introspection in “Whoa! To You Oh Earth and Sea”, The Dukes of Hillsborough have a Corrosion of Conformity-esque break down, a true crash through the speeding vehicle that was the rest of their section of the disc. The Dukes of Hillsborough put together a very solid side of this split, slapping together a very innovative type of punk that is radically different from anything that is currently being overhyped by Fearless, Epitaph, or Drive-Thru. Finishing off their side of the split with the chaos of “Naugahyde”, the band creates something beautiful out of something beautiful, a statement that can be used to cover the band in toto.
Continuing the killer tempo of The Dukes of Hillsborough, Altaira infuses a larger amount of pop-punk into their style. Now, they aren’t the next Blink 182, but the infusion of that style of music with the same take-no-prisoners style of The Dukes of Hillsborough makes an entirely different entity. True melody is found during “Warhurst” where the smooth yet scratchy vocals of the band run alongside the omnipresent bass. “Opportuna” is hands down the best track on the CD, as it mixes the everyone-on-the-mic nature of Operation: Cliff Clavin and Against Me! with an oi-sputtered out style of lyrics. The double-barreled lyrics during “Billy’s Song” has two distinct currents, and make it immediately a classic, continuing the same style that Altaira has culled together through the CD and infuses a little Ten Foot Pole to the mix. To further drive the point hope, the band chooses to end “Billy’s Song” with the same repeating guitar line. ADD has two killer bands that I’m sure they will be sad to see go after they are picked up by a larger label – it really is only a matter of time before these bands get the recognition they deserve.
Top Tracks – Naugahyde (Dukes of Hillsborough), Billy’s Song – Altaira
Rating: 8.6/10
NeuFutur
The Duke of Hillsborough play some rough around the edges melodic punk rock like may others from their home state of Florida. Their lyrics indicate that they firmly believe that beer makes life suck a little bit less. They're pretty great. Altaira are from the opposite side of the country as the Dukes, but they play a similar style of music, if only a little bit faster. Their songs are pretty sarcastic and dark, but great nonetheless. Definitely check this out if you like Leatherface and the like. Choice.
Reviews of the CD "If Only We Had Someplace To Go":
Deep Fry Bonanza
I enjoyed the first Dukes of Hillsborough album. It came with a strong recommendation from the Tim Version guys, so even though upon the first listen I thought it was a bit too influenced by Hot Water Music I stuck it out, took the time to find the band’s strengths and eventually learned to enjoy them for a unique, heavier take on the whole No Idea post-hardcore style. While I would have been perfectly happy to hear the Duke Boys were slugging along at the same pace on their new LP, I’m even more pleased to tell you that, like the Tim Version (who also didn’t seem to have many non-No Idea releases in their record collections when they started), with their new LP the Dukes of Hillsborough are seriously on some next level shit.
Just as the Tim Version brought the Replacements influences that made the band unique in the first place to the fore on their most recent work, the Duke Boys have concentrated on the dirgey, dirty heaviness that ultimately separated Undefeated at Russian Roulette from the pack. If Only We Had Someplace to Go improves on that album on all accounts, banging out riffs that are more evil, more searing, more complex and far more gratifying than their former selves, and while the old Dukes ultimately couldn’t shake off their Florida-isms, If Only We Had Someplace to Go finds them coming into their own as a band you would be hard-pressed to mistake for someone else.
Leaving mere post-hardcore in the dust, on If Only We Had Someplace to Go the Duke Boys have progressed into making a racket that is much more akin to the orchestrated screamo of bands like City of Caterpillar than the heavy pop of Leatherface or Hot Water Music. Songs build to massive crescendos, piling instrument upon instrument only to collapse into a burning pile of beautifully composed embers. Tempos vary wildly, from the dirge-like “Two Fists on Concrete” to the near-hardcore of “Fencemender,” yanking the listener around like a cork-screw roller coaster.
While the Dukes’ latest album is indeed one of the most beautifully orchestrated things to come out this year, it’s also abrasive enough that you can be damn sure that your non-punk friends won’t be into it. The Dukes employ heaviness of the real (i.e. metallic) variety, not of the faux-screamo kind, and while this may endear me to them even more, it will probably keep them totally blowing up in the mainstream or even broadly within the underground. However, as with bands like Leatherface, Pg. 99 and others, oftentimes the stuff that takes a little more effort to get into is well worth the trouble in the long run.
Weekly Planet, Tampa
The second outing from gravel-toned, dirt-rocking Punkhouse heroes the Dukes of Hillsborough, finds the trio branching out a bit, and adding some interesting dynamics to their propulsive, rough-hewn sound. Loose, utterly cathartic and owing far more to gutteral purge than to technique. DOH is one of those semi-melodic bands that fans of smoother fare should by all rights hate, but can't; the purity of their expression is suprisingly compelling. While I found the debut, Undefeated at Russian Roulette, more immediately punch-in-the-face satisfying, here the use of clean guitar and slower tempos breaks things up nicely. Granted, If Only We Had Someplace To Go can be droning and slightly anonymous somewhere around the thick of the middle, but "Fencemender," "Two Fists on Concrete" and "Barricade Champion" showcase the band in frightenly top-notch form.
Razorcake
As soon as I find my copy, I'll type it in. It's pretty good.
Toilet Paper (Germany)
Beautifully desperate but somehow still hopeful screamocore resembling early BoySetsFire. Guitars falling into metre deep holes of emotional battlefields on which one can't win but never stops trying. The typical dual vocals strategy is applied and the cynicism they spread works well.
Artcore (UK)
Half Screamed, half dichordant, sumewhat lurching melodic guitar based catharsis with Hot Water Music and As Friends Rust overtones, but taking a darker road on a bleaker day. Crunching then chiming guitars in a definite Husker Du vein, but brought up-to-date with a post-Hardcore emotional attack. Not something I'd listen to but above average for the many bands trying to do this style these days. Nice production job too. (Three skulls and crossbones).
Kronic.it Italian zine
Molto rumore per nulla...
E’ un’atmosfera di tensione emotiva molto forte quella che si respira fin dalle prime note di questo disco. Un genere difficile da definire quello proposto dai Dukes che si potrebbe avvicinare senza troppe pretese all’emo-core dei Grade. Gli otto brani che compongono il disco, scorrono via con particolare facilità ricordando, in brani come “Fencemender” e “Izzy Stradlin” lo stile dei pimi Hot Water Music. Niente da obiettare al songwriting strumentale che regala riff di grande intensità, mentre le melodie risultano col tempo un po’ pesanti forse per colpa dell’inflessione vocale che non sfrutta a pieno le potenzialità del cantante.
Potenti ritmi di batteria e incessanti riff di chitarra farciscono brani come “The Crane Technique” e “Barricade Champion” marcando una malinconia devastante che grazie agli stacchi delle chitarre pulite lasciano un minimo respiro nell’ascolto. Anche i frequenti cambi di ritmo costituiscono un palliativo alla noia che purtroppo però potrebbe subentrare negli ultimi brani. “If only we…” non è un brutto disco ma può stancare con il susseguirsi degli ascolti a causa di uno stile che si ripete nelle scelte soprattutto in quelle vocali. La traccia segreta stempera il clima di malinconia creato puntando sull’ironia del folk rock anche se personalmente non ho apprezzato questa trovata che rende meno credibile l’intero disco.
Rocktoberfest
Though they sound nothing like the band Charles Bronson, the singer does sing like his entire family was raped and killed, a la the actual Bronson in "Death Wish 1-7".
An Irish Webzine
Where the hell is Hillsborough?! I have no idea, but it must be some sort of
post-punk haven coz these coz are just superb and one of the most
emotionally charged bands I hae heard in a long while. Take early Planes
Mistaken For Stars, Six Going On Seven and throw in some elements of Gunmoll
and you might get some idea of what these guys are all about. The Dukes are
capable of combining melody, beauty and sheer energy and emotion all at the
same time. Plus these guys have managed to write some very insightful
lyrics, perfect for matching their insightful songs. If only we had
someplace to go is the name of this ep, well let me tell you something,
these guys are definitely going somewhere!
Reviews of the CD "Undefeated at Russian Roulette":
Deep Fry Bonanza
This past winter, after making a pilgrimage down to Orlando to visit Marvel Island, I decided that Florida was the worst state in the country. Now, you're probably wondering how someone can come to this conclusion after only visiting something like a fourth of the states on the 'ol map, but Florida really, really sucked. First of all nearly every bit of Interstate 95 was under construction. Let me clarify that a bit; at any given point at least one lane was closed on Interstate 95, but try as I might I couldn't find a single worker doing anything appearing constructive. Now, admittedly this was the weekend of the Daytona 500, but I didn't think that was a state holiday down there.
Then there was the service... oh, the customer service in Florida is something else, let me tell you. After driving for something like 11 hours straight my lady friend Kelly and I decided it was time for dinner. Not wanting to delay our arrival in a nice cozy hotel bed any more than possible we decided to stop at one of those giant gas stations that have a few fast food restaurants inside. Naturally I roll up to the Dairy Queen (they have, by far, the best hamburgers of any fast food restaurant) and a young man steps up to the register and asks me if he can take my order.
After I went through the typical spiel of value meals and their adjustments and addendums the kid just stared at me blankly and said "I'm sorry, I don't know how to work the cash register, I'm the cook." I was so utterly astonished that I couldn't reply. The rest of the scene can't be described so succinctly, but suffice to say that it consisted of three teenagers incompetently darting back and forth behind the counter like that crazy little ball in Men In Black. At one point a customer in line behind us took it upon herself to go find the manager, who was a middle-aged woman with trailer park-feathered hair detachedly smoking a cigarette in a tiny back office. The only reply to her complaint was a blank stare. I'll give it to them, though; exactly the right combination of room temperature hamburgers and french fries were, in fact, deposited in my bag when it was handed to me 20 minutes later.
For all of Florida's problems cooking up burgers, they seem to do pretty darn well concocting stews of emotional punk rock. From old timers like Less Than Jake and Hot Water Music to newer bands like the Tim Version and Gunmoll Florida seems to have quite the impressive cache of punk rock groups. I don't know what it is about those endless miles of gator-infested swamps, but they seem to make kids want to pick up heavily distorted guitars and scream the lyrics to great pop songs until that little vein in their forehead looks like it's going to burst. And thanks to highway construction team jobs where you don't seem to have you actually work, it's all effectively subsidized by the government!
Tampa's Dukes of Hilsborough obviously take a lot of inspiration from fellow Floridians Hot Water Music as well as soundalikes such as Small Brown Bike and Planes Mistaken For Stars; you've got the phlegm-soaked vocals, chunky rhythms and defiantly blue-collar attitude. Hell, if you weren't paying all that much attention this might as well be Hot Water Music. However, there is certainly more than enough uniqueness to the Dukes of Hillsborough to give the person who takes a little more time with their music a reason to buy this rather than another HWM CD.
Instrumentally, the Dukes of Hillsborough come from a slightly different place. Judging by the doomy stoner rock riff that opens "Fall Thru You" I'm guessing that these guys probably have a few Sabbath records in their collection, and maybe their old Unsane LPs still make their way down to the turntable from time to time. Though few moments on Undefeated at Russian Roulette are as unapologetically metal as this, there is a heaviness to the instrumentation that pervades every second of this disc, even softer acoustic moments like bridge to "In This Wave," which is very reminiscent of the deftly picked acoustic guitars that occasionally pop up in the work of death metal bands like In Flames or Darkest Hour.
Lyrically, the Dukes distinguish themselves even more. In general, the lyricist speaks in oblique metaphors that are as difficult to penetrate as Thurston Moore's (though the Dukes certainly have more of a down-to-earth vibe than Sonic Youth), but from time to time an exceptionally clever theme or idea will surface. "Union Made and Premium," for instance, seems to be from the perspective of Rocky (yes, that Rocky) as he's on the ropes in his match against that freaky Russian, Mr. T or whoever he's against at the time and just about to open up the can. Though such a character study isn't quite as elaborate or sophisticated as what someone like Elvis Costello does, it's quite the breath of fresh air in a world where it seems like every single punk rock song is about the same girl.
So while Undefeated at Russian Roulette doesn't quite have me ready to pick up and move to Tampa in an effort to see these guys as much as possible it was quite a nice surprise. To fans of this particular sub-genre I would certainly recommend checking the Dukes out. And to those of us who only need a couple of full-lengths worth of heavy, emotional post-hardcore in our collection I'll say that this CD displays a hell of a lot more variation and imagination than even the genre's longstanding leaders, so if you happen to cross paths with the Dukes of Hillsborough sometime soon give them a listen.
San Diego Punk
Dukes
of Hillsborough: Undefeated at Russian
Roulette
ADD Records
8.5 out of 10
2002
The Dukes of Hillsborough are a hard partying, hard
drinking, hard playing, hard-core triplet from Hillsborough
county Florida, hence the name. Their debut record
“Undefeated at Russian Roulette” was unleashed January
of this year. The nine track album out on Attention
Deficit Disorder Records is well paced and harmonious
(as harmonious as hard-core can be). At first listen
I could barely make out the lyrics, which are delivered
in a abrasive yet expressive fashion by lead singer
and guitarist Jeff Duke. After subsequent listens
and with the use of the liner notes I could not only
make out the lyrics, but the songs began to stick
in my head, not in a hooky vibe, but through depth
of the words and through the passion of the delivery.
Jeff Duke isn’t just
some howler he can actually sing, backed by bass playing
and deep background vox of Travis P. Coltrane, the
singing dynamic is awesome, these two complement each
other like Jack and Coke. The guitar riffs and bass
lines are melodic and deliberate. At some breakdowns
the Duke Boys really show that they are pretty damn
good musicians, songs like “Union Made and Premium”
and “To The End” (a badass song) slow to almost a
pleasant halt and pick up to a frantic, aggressive
pace with a signature sweet voice to a harsh one.
Phil Duke is the drummer
who completes the trio, as well as the music, I like
Phil Duke because he is not one of those show off
drummers that interfere with the tunes; he adds more
to them. Don’t get me wrong, he can really thump,
but it’s not too excessive. I think some of his better
work is done on a song called “Anarchy to a Point”,
his drumming makes the melody to this song, which
happens to be one of my favorites.
I’m not too into the
hardcore scene, but I might start getting into it.
I dug pretty much every song on this album. Every
song works, nothing sounds inaudible or unsettling.
From beginning to end the Duke boys come through with
kickass songs. I can’t think of one I disliked or
didn’t love. I do find it hard to draw similarities
to any other band, I would say they sound like The
Dukes of Hillsborough (it’s pretty fresh stuff). The
words are stirring, especially the words of songs
like “Black Watch” a song about being a wage slave,
and another of my personal picks called “Square One
Dylan” a tune about how music fits the times and how
the times we live in the music is not so pretty, the
guitar work and precessions are excellent on all nine
tracks, best on cuts like “Song Called Fill” and “Fall
Thru You”. This is a very good album I give it a 8.5
out of 10. The melodies are quality and the lyrics
are passionate. “Black Watch” and a few samples of
the Dukes can be heard at Attention Deficit Disorders’
website www.addwreckedkids.com,
I implore you to check this site out, the label rocks,
The Dukes rock, great music. Also check out The Dukes
own site, were you can learn a lot more about them
and their habits www.dukeboys.net
it’s a cool site.
-Mikey Starr
Needles, Ink., April 2002
I'm going to try to write this without making any Dukes of Hazard references. One of the best bands around the Bay area are the Dukes Of Hillsborough, and I'll tell you why. Simplicity. No gimmicks, no flashy sequenced jump suits, no DJ, just some rock, and good old fashion song writing. Not that any of those traits had left, its just always refreshing to see it done right. After a widely heard three track demo had been passed around at shows, the Dukes put out "Undefeated at Russian Roulette" on Tampa's ADD records (www.addwreckedkids.com). The trio's first full length album progresses from the demo, and the song writing has also improved to add more texture while maintaining the rawness and simplicity of the dirged punk feel. Try and check out the band, as they are constantly gigging around town. It's always a good show, and well worth calling entertainment. So there, I did it. (juke juke juke) - James Ballinger
Razorcake
DUKES OF HILLSBOROUGH, THE
"Undefeated at Russian Roulette" CD
If there’s a musical category called emo-grunge, this bilious stomach-churning auditory disaster would certainly be categorized as such! It’s the most god-awful odoriferous aural fart that’s ever repulsed my ears to the brink of all-out vomit-inducing repugnance; an insipid, bowel-stirring onslaught of sonically distressing diarrhea that relentlessly squirts nothin’ but uninspired stagnancy. Goodbye, Dookies Of Hillsborough; the dark and dank toilet ravine beckons. Flush… aaaahhh. -Roger Moser Jr. (Attention Deficit Disorder) -7/25/2002 4:16:00 PM