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THE
RAKES
Capture/Release
(V2)
Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maximo Park...and now The Rakes.
Seems we’ve got a trend here of sharp-dressed English
blokes reworking angular, ’80s post-punk. Directed by
producer du jour Paul Epworth, here they prove they can go
haircut-to-haircut with the rest. Alan Donohoe has the choked-vocal
style down pat on “22 Grand Job,” which pokes fun
at the 9-to-5 grind that the lads have escaped. Guitarist
Matthew Swinnerton’s riffs are ably paced by Jamie Hornsmith
on bass and Lasse Peterson on drums. The Rakes make their
Japan debut at Summer Sonic, where they can be compared to
Bloc Party, who are also on the bill. DG
LOUIS XIV
The Best Little Secrets Are Kept
(Atlantic/Warner)
Another act making a Summer Sonic debut takes the retro thing
even deeper. Hailing from sunny San Diego of all places, Louis
XIV look back to pre-punk ’70s glam of English acts like
T-Rex. You know from their name and album cover to expect
the over-the-top, and the songs within do not contradict first
impressions. Jason Hill lets loose volleys of leering sleaze
in a well-honed English schoolboy accent (if Green Day can
do it, why not?), chick-hunting with borderline misogyny on
“Finding Out True Love Is Blind” and other similarly
greasy, grinding numbers. Flash in the pan? Maybe. But who
thought Jagger would still be wearing eyeliner after all these
years? DG
AIHA HIGURASHI
Platonic
(Ki/oon/Sony)
Revered by Beck, Aiha Higurashi built a reputation with her
indie band Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her. After cutting
her teeth on labels like Britain’s Cherry Red, her 2003
debut Born Beautiful showed her English and Japanese songwriting
skills and a strong, feminine quality to her girlishness.
Platonic is one of the more original records to appear this
year, displaying her ability to blend unfamiliar sounds into
something distinct. The album shifts from the indie-rock title
track to the magical groove of “Living Source” to
the Sugarhill Gang-lite of “Till the Time Comes,”
showing her to be one of the most accomplished artists around.
It’s been a long time coming, but her time is clearly
now. Robert Poole
BRIAN ENO
A.D.O.E.
(Hannibal)
Eno has his voice back. Having cocooned himself behind a
mixing desk to contribute an austere ambient sheen on albums
by Bowie, U2 and Talking Heads, the egg-headed studio boffin
played keyboards on some of the finest subversive pop tracks
ever, for Roxy Music and on his own albums. A.D.O.E. is more
reminiscent of Eno’s early-’90s vocal output. “How
Many Worlds” features hardly any vocals, an excuse for
him to create an expansive instrumental soundscape not unlike
John Cale’s. There’s a sense of intimacy to songs
like “This,” with its mantra-like repetition, and
a contemporary feel with Eno clearly knowing his way round
a snazzy, clipped beat. David Hickey
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