Mighty Duke & the Lords - Caribbean Rollerama (2020) [Hi-Res]

Like a champagne magnum to a cruise ship’s hull, Caribbean Rollerama – the second full-length album from trop~pop quintet Mighty Duke & The Lords – is poised to become a frothing smash.

Flavourwise, the new LP from Melbourne’s foremost party band is more margarita than bubbly: a peppery brew of afrobeat, cumbia, Miami disco, and stringband beach jams.

Shaken and stirred by veteran producer Gareth Parton (sonic honcho behind The Go! Team, Big Scary and Foals), Caribbean Rollerama was recorded at Melbourne’s classic Soundpark, “a facility held together entirely by blu-tac and sticky tape,” to quote Mighty Duke & The Lords’ co-frontman Duke.

The new offering further anchors this unit as the avatar of modern day ‘trop~pop’: their own signature style that morphed naturally from motley interpretations of 1950s Trinidadian Calypso music. Mighty Duke and the Lords have delivered their irrepressible stage show across Australia including appearances at Dark MOFO, Meredith, Falls, Riverboats and Sydney Festival to name a few.

“We found calypso and jumped right in only to find that what we really liked about it was the attitude. So we took that and wrapped it around us like a wet towel, and jumped headfirst into tropical party music,” adds guitarist-frontman Mighty.

Amongst the new album’s ten fresh tracks: ‘Obama’, a roller-disco ditty covering the extracurricular mores of a former US President; ‘Pool Party’, an infectious B-52s-inspired summer hit and ‘Passion of the Lords’, a recipe jingle for the band’s eponymous island tipple (that’s two parts rum, one part Passiona, FYI).

Caribbean Rollerama also marks a lengthy circumnavigation for Mighty, Duke and the band’s three Lords – Scandinavian bassist Lord Fjord, North American junk percussionist Lord Lazybuoy, and saxophonist Lord La Mer – who ignited this non-stop live tropical party eight years ago to the adoration and loosened pelvises of rave local and international dancefloor crowds.

Mighty – Guitar, vocals
Duke – Trombone, vocals
Lord La Mer – Saxophone, guitar, backing vocals
Lord Fjord – Bass, guitar, backing vocals
Lord Lazy Buoy – Percussion, ukulele, backing vocals

Tracklist:
01. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Obama (5:15)
02. Mighty Duke & the Lords - We Got Tonight (4:13)
03. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Capture Gold (2:58)
04. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Pool Party (3:15)
05. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Realidad (3:53)
06. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Sugar (4:49)
07. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Jacques Cousteau (3:39)
08. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Marco Polo (2:35)
09. Mighty Duke & the Lords - Passion of the Lords (2:27)
10. Mighty Duke & the Lords - The Reef (4:31)