Capture / Release
Everyone in music is an amalgam of their influences. For the Rakes, this means they're a lot like a meeting where Wire and Gang of Four get together and play melodies that less are less astringent and angular and more, well, melodic. Luckily, they exceed the shadows of the past exuberantly. It's tight art-punk, tense and a little furious. Then, though, the backing vocals on "Open Book," bending "aws" and "ohs," are just fantastic, measured pop set against minimal guitar jangles that propel the song effortlessly and simply. Elsewhere, on "Binary Love" for example, there's an insistent, classic vocal choppines that'sso1977-78 – with choked guitar tones that fully jar the memory. "Violent" is a perfect past-and-present brew, with dub bass lines and old school guitar riffs that ultimately burst into a completely "now" throwdown, shaking off the obviousEntertainment-era Dave Allen nod. So these guys don't just genuflect to forbears: They know enough to mete out pop hooks and singable choruses and not just blast "12XU." Would that be such a bad thing, though?--Andrew Bartlett