The Rakes: 'Klang'
The Rakes, remember them? You probably do – it came as a massive surprise to me that it’s only actually two years since they released an album - I could’ve sworn it was longer, I really could. Perhaps that’s owing to the fact that album two, ‘Ten New Messages’, really failed in my eyes to solidify the groundwork made by their excellent debut ‘Capture/Release’, amongst whose highlights came the sort of indie disco anthems you’ll still hear in clubs today - '22 Grand Job', anyone?
So that difficult third album emerges on something of a recovery mission under the title ‘Klang’, and what of it? Well it’s more of the same – that being the type of angular, well worked guitar parts synonymous with most good music that emerged from London around the early part of this millennium, put into a mixer with Alan Donohoe’s drawl of a vocal. It’s a vocal I’m really fond of actually; I always felt it added a dimension to The Rakes that took them higher than similar bands and that stands once more on ‘Klang’, as Donohoe is at his best throughout. The great thing about his vocal for me is that he’s singing about things he really cares about but he sounds like he really doesn’t give a shit. No surprise then that fashionista Hedi Slimane cites this lot as an influence in some of his design – they’re bloody cool alright.
The album begins with ‘You’re In It’, a welcome-back record that kicks this album into gear well, the sort of record that typifies what The Rakes are about. This one, along with the catchy ‘Bitchin’ in the Kitchin’ and ‘Shackleton’, are single material, material that will see the record go down well with fans of the band and attract a new, younger crowd into checking out the back catalogue.
The highlight though is definitely ‘1989’ – the bands new single and possibly their best work to date. It’s got all the sharp wit found on the first album packed into three and a half minutes of upbeat indie rock’n’roll, exactly what The Rakes do well. I’d love to hear this live, I can’t help but think it’d kick us 23-year-olds back a few years, just for a while. It’s the sort of song that really can bring The Rakes forward into 2009, it can get even replace '22 Grand Job' in the DJ booth – it’s even better.
The only downside of having a song so superbly constructed and expertly delivered as ‘1989’ is that it makes songs like ‘Muller’s Ratchet’ and ‘You’re In It’ sound just ok, and when you’re coming back to take on the plethora of fresh-faced indie-bands you need more than ok – you need unreal.
At times this album disappoints, at times it really impresses – but overall it’s pretty good. I just can’t help but feel that, perhaps unfortunately, the scene that The Rakes helped to formulate back in 2005 might well have been stood down now. Maybe the kids don’t understand this stuff anymore, maybe I’m being patronising. All I know is last week I was in a club when ‘Boy’s in the Band’ came on – nobody moved. Good luck, boys, you may just need it.
6/10
Words: Benjamin Coley.
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