Number 33'Ten New Messages' by The Rakes
Trotter’s Top Ten position : 7 in 2007
UK Chart high : 38 in 2007
Sadly The Rakes split up this year so there's no chance of them appearing in the next decade countdown but they do leave a couple of decent albums behind and a very good one in 'Ten New Messages'. They steered clear of repeating the japes peppered through their debut 'Capture/Release' and instead wrote a follow-up that tried to get across the various moods in London after the July bombings. Doesn't exactly sound like loads of fun, but thankfully the references weren't hitting you over the head and being overly sombre and tracks like 'The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect' and 'When Tom Cruise Cries' tell you all you need to know about their take on things. Lyrically they could be compared to Pulp when they were at their best; such as in the three person perspective 'Suspicious Eyes' (featuring a newly discovered Laura Marling) detailing a tube journey and the emotions coming to the surface when an innocent young Muslim guy gets on. Sharp, witty and inventive and also not outstaying its welcome - a bit like the band themselves really.
Look at We Danced Together ; The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version
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