Moving from brash, bluesy beginnings to a wide-ranging sound that incorporated indie pop, Motown, and shoegaze influences, the bands first EP, Roll Spirit Roll, was released in 2003 by City Rockers.
The band continued to tour and record, and in 2005 Loog/Polydor signed the band and soon after released Cuts Across the Land in the U.K. . Startime International picked up their U.S. distribution and introduced the Duke Spirit to the States by releasing the album in early 2006. The Duke Spirit also released the limited-edition EP Covered in Love that year, featuring their versions of songs by Jesse Mae Hemphill, Arthur Lee, and Desmond Dekker. They also worked on a collaboration with UNKLE, which they recorded with producer Chris Goss in his Joshua Tree, California studio; the track appeared on UNKLE's 2007 album. The Duke Spirit worked with Goss again on their second album, Neptune, which arrived in spring 2008. For 2011's fittingly named Bruiser, the band opted for a heavier approach.

In 2014, they reunited with Cuts Across the Land producer and former Cocteau Twins member Simon Raymonde, who helped the band craft a more sensual, luminous sound for its fourth album, 2016's Kin. The Duke Spirit kept their momentum going with Sky Is Mine, a tender set of songs that arrived the following year.