Alas, pity the life of a rake.
“And so Lord Penfold, I simply must tell you…”
“Apologies my lady, but there is someone I absolutely have to speak to this very minute.”
“But you promised that you would listen to my story.”
“And so I shall my dear, so I shall. But for now I must beg your forgiveness, for we must part ways though it rends my heart to be away from you for a mere moment.”
“Alright Lord Penfold. If you must go I understa…”
The last bit of dialogue was lost to me as I had already begun my hasty retreat from the young lady whom up until quite recently had been particularly engaging. Unfortunately, she had transitioned into what I commonly refer to as a ‘clingy’ state. Not that I blame her at all. I know how tremendously attractive I am to women and how quickly they become enamored with me. At least I did not have to resort to a lie to extricate myself from this latest conversation. I really did need to speak with King Charles about my recent run of bad luck at the tables and track. Surely he would understand that my luck could only get better, and my mounting debt would shortly be reduced if not eliminated. But before I could walk over to King Charles I spotted someone else I wished to speak with even more at the bar. Standing with a drink in his hand and wearing an obscene getup was the Earl of Rochester.
“Lord Rochester, what on earth happened to your clothes?”
“Ah, Lord Penfold. Good to see you. This is the latest fashion. Do you like it?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure what to make of it. You appear to have cut off all of the hair from your wig except for a single line down the middle which you have spiked with some sort of gel. And your normally fine clothing has been torn in several areas and is only held together with numerous safety pins. Has some devil possessed you sir?”
“No, no Penfold. A new band called The Rakehells has come under my patronage. They inspired this change in my appearance. Come, they’re playing in the auditorium down the hall. You must hear them play!”
“Fine, but I’m bringing a bottle to keep us company.”
To put it simply, this is punk rock how I often want punk rock to sound. Pay homage to the greats that came before you, but go about your business with an undeniable swagger and style you can claim as your own. The Rakehells never let up from the first note of their debut album, Please Yourself or the Devil in the Flesh, all the way through to the moment you hear the laser eye of your CD player readjusting itself after reaching the end of the disc. Let’s put this bad boy under the microscope to better learn its ways.
As stated before The Rakehells play what I would refer to as punk rock. I realize that that is quite the blanket statement considering the extraordinarily varied acts which all describe themselves with the same moniker. Perhaps it will be simpler to describe the band’s sound by explaining what they are not. Although I would definitely describe the guitar tones as muscular, the band is certainly not a hardcore group. Yes the vocals are all sung, not screamed or yelled, but the band fails to show any sign of the sappiness found in a lot of commercial pop punk. While the song tempos do fluctuate, they typically reside in the realm of fast and never fall into slow territory a la a lot of post punk. Okay, I’m tired of this exercise. In the end I ask myself who needs labels when the music is great? Answer: nobody.
“Ready, Fire, Aim” begins the album and acts a foretelling of things to come. Remember I spoke earlier about the band having a swagger about them. Well rest assured it’s on full display from the word go, and it oozes out of your speakers in an untamable flow. The band reeks of confidence in the music they are producing, and it is infectious. Personal highlights for me are “Souls for Sale”, “Mode of the Moment”, and “Meat on a Stick”. I find that I draw more enjoyment from these songs thanks solely to their rip-snorting, monolithic guitar riffs and insanely propulsive energy. But limiting yourself to just these three songs would be worse than criminal in light of the rest of the album. If you’re a fan of The Clash then you will fall head over heels for songs like “Charles Marlay”, “Sexton Blake”, and “Capital”. I’m not suggesting that these are duplicates of Clash songs, just that sonically many obvious parallels can be drawn between the two bands while listening. Also if like me you are a fan of X, then you definitely need to hear the song “Lost Weekend”. On this song especially the listener can hear the clear influence of John Doe’s singing style and tone on the lead singer from The Rakehells. Besides that, the musical dissonance throughout much of that song is endlessly intriguing!
Fellow Waveriders, if you are looking for something new and interesting in the world of punk or just rock n’ roll in general you need look no further than The Rakehells. I’ve been listening to this album for a little while now and I personally vouch for its authentic entertainment value. The fact that this is the very first release from this band is somewhat frightening. I don’t want to think about what will happen to my listening habits down the line if this band refines its formula and releases more killer albums. Apology letters will have to be sent to my other favorite acts since The Rakehells will occupy all of my listening time. Scary!
“So Lord Penfold, what do you think of the band?”
“Lord Rochester, I’m stunned! They’re fantastic!”
“I’m glad you feel that way Penfold. If you had not liked them, I might not have told you that the young lady you were wooing earlier appears to be looking for you. She seems rather smitten with you, you villain.”
“Ah hah, that is most unfortunate. For now I must leave this fine ball, and all because of my animal magnetism. I tell you John, I’m cursed.”
-- Penfold
Buy here mp3: Please Yourself; Or the Devil in the Flesh
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