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If Alex Turner could be considered the modern sage of life in Northern England, then The Rakes’ Alan Donohue could equally be labelled his counterpart in the countries capital. On ‘Ten New Messages’ the wire framed front man with a penchant for epileptic like dance moves continues where he left off on the band's brilliant debut ‘Capture/Release’ bringing us ten tales of the everyday in London. However, while The Rakes' first effort was a lairy, rough around the edges snapshot, their second is a lot more polished and honed - something that at times benefits it and others detracts from the bands visceral appeal of before.
Whereas ‘Capture/Release’ was full of short, sharp shocks, the tracks on ‘Ten New Messages’ have been elongated but still keep the poppy, cutting riff laden edge that attracted us to The Rakes in the first place. Take opener ‘The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect’ which clocks in at over five minutes and could quite easily soundtrack the latest bond movie had 007 been sporting a drainpipe suit and a perfectly coiffured fringe. As the title might suggest it is underlined by the laconic wit which has pervaded all The Rakes work to date and was originally written as a sonic accompaniment to a Dior fashion show. The irony is oh so obvious.
A sense of paranoia and darkness is in evident throughout the album. Carrying on from ‘Terror’ on ‘Capture/Release’ where they sung about every plane being “a missile” and every suitcase “a bomb” tracks such as ‘Suspicious Eyes’ provide us with yet more post-7/7 mistrust but this time from the two sides of the story. Both are commuters on the London underground; one being the suspicious white majority eyeing up a potential suicide bomber, the other the scrutinised Asian minority being watched by the “suspicious eyes” of the other passengers. ‘When Tom Cruise Cries’ does a similar job on the increasing obsession with celebrity and its blurring of real life and the often absurd. Both are a telling reminder of The Rakes' ability to blend serious matters with accessible indie-pop, something that many of their peers could certainly do with a lesson in.
Fans looking for The Rakes of their first release are still catered for on several occasions, not least on first single ‘We Dance Together’ which updates and much improves the likes of ‘22 Two Grand Job’ and ‘Work Work Work (Pub Club Sleep)’. Elsewhere ‘Trouble’ and ‘On A Mission’ go back to the tried and tested formula of flitting, itchy guitar work and metronomic beats that made ‘Strasbourg’ such a break out track for the foursome.
Donohue has already stated that ‘Ten More Messages’ is something of a concept album and it certainly feels more of a rounded record rather than the twelve individual tracks of ‘Capture/Release’. It lacks the initial impact of its predecessor and instead takes several listens before its charms become apparent from under the layers of precision production. Less a punch in the face on a drunken night out and more the come down after the previous night's hedonism.
