The Rakes - 1989

new sound may be slightly harsher than their previous dancefloor fodder but don’t think that The Rakes have lost it. With the catalogue they have behind them it would be easy to dismiss this as a career dip, however that’s just down to the fact that ‘1989’ is less immediate, not less brilliant.

Having decamped to Berlin The Rakes have noticeably ditched anything London associated and are therefore now sounding more like themselves than ever. Aside really from the ‘la-la-la-la-laa’ chorus, which sounds like it’s been lifted from a Blur or Hard-Fi record. The guitars are choppy and the drumming is precise which means that on paper this sounds like just another Rakes single. If we were to be harsh then we might dismiss it as such business as usual. In reality, and because of the love we have for their previous albums, we’ll put this down as a great slice of post-punk style indie rock. Also any band that can get us moving this much is more than alright, in our books.