The Rakes - Retreat

Genre rock Publisher Dimmak Records External Links Official Website Dimmak Records

Having grown up on the East Coast of the country, rakes were an integral part of my upbringing in the fall season. My first real roommate after I moved out of my parent's house was a man named Louden. He was worthless, utterly useless as a human being. Whenever he met anyone, they immediately asked him about the large red lump on the right side of his forehead. The real story has him at age six, stepping on a rake.

These two ephemeral memories came rushing back to me as I looked at The Rakes CD case. They are a London band licensed to America on Dimmak records (V2 over there). The band sounds like a lot of stuff that's come out of Europe over the last few years (Kaiser Chiefs and Maximo Park as well as British imitators The Bravery) exuding a style that is rather pop, but still has a few dark tones within. The particular album we're talking about is the Retreat EP. It's six songs long, features topics of fearful living, class war, love, disaster, and the grind of everyday life. The basslines are quite similar to Peter Hook of Joy Division. "Dark Clouds," has a lyrical stance also mirroring the style of dark humour that former British punk bands (and American punks) exhibited.

All in all this EP shows the Rakes being a part of a trend of British musicians, that are not bad, but aren't groundbreaking either. As for the East Coast, last fall sucked and as for Louden, I'm positive he's still a piece of shit.