Kevin Bronson on December 28th, 2010

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The Duke Spirit’s scorching soul-rock has always been good for a knockout punch (or three). But just because the London quintet’s new album  is titled “Bruiser,” don’t think it’s a facsimile of their first two albums, “Cuts Across the Land” (2005) and “Neptune” (2008.) “Bruiser,” recorded in L.A. with Andrew Scheps, is a more raw-boned affair, with frontwoman Liela Moss’s icy-hot vocals skittering across brawny guitar-bass-drum lines.

Moss and bandmates Toby Butler, Luke Ford, Olly Betts and Marc Sollis have been busy preparing for the release. They recently teased it with the “Kusama” EP, featuring “Everybody’s Under Your Spell,” and just before Christmas they traveled to Sri Lanka to perform at the beachfront Electric Peacock Festival. Last year, Moss unexpectedly became a fashion darling when the late designer Alexander McQueen tabbed her as his muse for a line of clothing he did for Target.

With the Duke Spirit headed to L.A. for a show Thursday at the Roxy, we caught up with Moss a quick chat – via e-mail, it being the holidays and all. After our preview of the new music, check out what she had to say:

• ||| Downloads: “Everybody’s Under Your Spell” (EP version), “Villain” and “Procession” (e-mails required for the latter two)

Happy holidays. With all your recent globetrotting, are you getting to enjoy them?

Totally! Almost didn’t (last week) when the snow crippled every mode of transport in the U.K., and we were returning from Sri Lanka. However, I’m home now and deciding if I have enough ingredients to create a bespoke Christmas cocktail. So far I’ve seen vodka, mustard and an egg in my kitchen.

You’ve just returned from the western coast of Sri Lanka and a gig at the Electric Peacock Festival. What was that experience like?

Quite something. It was a mango-fueled, Arrack*-snorting cultural exchange of the highest order. Listening to stories with kids who grew up in the context of a 30-year war is quite a humbling and humanizing experience. (* – Arrack is coconut moonshine.)

If you were a doctor and had just completed a full examination of The Duke Spirit, what would you tell the patient?

Wow, you’ve ceratinly dropped a few pounds off those muffin-tops and reduced your cholesterol levels. Circulation is just pumping right through in the groove. However, there is still damage and dirt to your liver, cut back on the moonshine next record, but at least your heart can take it.

Congratulations on getting “Bruiser” ready for our ears — what can we expect in terms of the evolution of the Duke Spirit’s sound?

Leaner, meaner and with the songs on a diet of more space, less sludge. The album is fit and hungry. Focused and not cluttered. More articulate and big on the roll as well as the rock this time around.

You’ve said that thematically the songs on “Bruiser” are less confessional and more observational. Can you talk about what informed that shift in focus?

I grew up, got bored of myself and turned outward for lyrical inspiration. Travel has afforded me many new friends and extraordinary scenarios, and left me contemplating those characters for this record. Memory images and wishful thinking are still there though … definitely a mainstay of my lyrical dishes.

On the other hand, there is that lovely piano ballad …?

Lovely is how my grandma would describe it. Can you not think of anything else to say?

(Interviewer’s note: This is why I hate “talking” to people via e-mail. I would have said “lovely” in a whimsical, wry and possibly ironic way, but of course in an e-mail that inflection is lost. Suffice to say “Villain” is rather, well … simmering. And please don’t tell Ms. Moss that I’m old enough to be a grandparent.)

You spent time in beautiful Los Angeles recording the new album with Andrew Scheps, who’s been behind the board for some pretty big bands. How did that go?

It was literally a god-send. Or rather he was. He found time for us very much at the last minute and made stuff happen quick, spontaneously and he kept the stress down! Good vibes dude. We totally enjoyed his methods.

How (if at all) did Dan Higgins’ departure from the band influence the songwriting process for the new album?

Essentially, one less voice in the decision making process makes things much easier. There is less doubt or contradiction when the group number is reduced.

I’ve seen press releases and online items that now characterize the Duke Spirit as “fashion darlings,” owing to your role as muse for McQ’s fasion line for Target. Did you ever imagine your image being projected in that manner? Has it opened more doors for the band – and, additionally, do you think it has in any way affected your fans’ perceptions of the Duke Spirit?

No, I didn’t imagine being a fashion-type. I’ve not been to those kinds of parties enough, so I find it funny you can even “qualify” when you aren’t seen falling out of a cab with your skirt and panties up your butt cheeks.

However, it’s been interesting to be exposed to some aspects of the fashion world up-close, and even better to have made a friendship with Phillip Lim, who, apart from being a sublime creator of clothes, is a beautiful and unpretentious man – and meeting folk like that brings great integrity to any music-art collaboration. I’m happy not to have met any fake idiots. I guess there is still time.

I’ve no ideas what fans may think. The McQueen thing was a bit weird, since it was marketed through the huge Target machine. It was not entirely clear what was going to happen with that project when we entered into it. It would seem some parts of the population who would never have heard of us before, discovered us since. I have no problem with that!

What else should your L.A. fans know before your arrival at the Roxy?

That Luke and Toby have a sick new collection of effects pedals, Olly has a secret machine that makes sexy percussive shit happen and I have a martial-arts move that I will use if the crowd get me excited enough. The front row should be careful. New boy Marc is a nasty foot-sliding dance wizard, so all-in-all it would be a shame to miss us.

||| Live: The Duke Spirit, along with Crash Kings and Free Lions, play Thursday night at the Roxy.