The Rakes

All Music Guide:

Proof that one fantastic single is all it takes to make a band's name, the Rakes burst onto the London music scene in 2004 with "22 Grand Job," a pithy punk satire of crappy entry-level office jobs. Various stories swirled about how the band -- which featured vocalist/guitarist Alan Donohoe, guitarist Matthew Swinnerton, bassist Jamie Hornsmith, and drummer Lasse Petersen -- got together, ranging from elaborate tales of meeting on a flight to Amsterdam to the more plausible explanation of being childhood friends. The Rakes played a few local dates before unleashing 22 Grand Job, which was released as a limited-edition 7" by Trash Aesthetics, also the early home to Bloc Party. The single also appeared on the Fierce Panda compilation EP On the Buzzes. The band spent that spring and summer recording and supporting like-minded acts such as Bloc Party, the Others, and Art Brut. In the fall, the Rakes released their second single, Strasbourg, on City Rockers and embarked on their first tour. After signing with V2, the band rang in 2005 by gigging and working on their debut album. The singles Retreat and Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep) anticipated the released of Capture/Release in the U.K. in summer 2005. Dim Mak released Retreat as an EP in the U.S. that fall, coinciding with the Rakes' first stateside tour. Capture/Release arrived in the U.S. in spring 2006. An EP of remixes in 2007 preceded the band's second album Ten New Messages, which appeared that spring. The band returned with the noisier Klang, which was released in the U.K. in spring 2009; the week before the album's U.S. release that fall, the band announced in a statement that they were parting ways.

Wikipedia:

The Rakes were an English indie rock band from London who had a string of top 40 singles and albums in the mid-2000s. Forming in 2003, they split up in October 2009.

History [edit]

The Rakes formed in 2003. Their debut album, Capture/Release, spawned the singles "22 Grand Job", "Work, Work, Work (Pub, Club, Sleep)", and "Retreat". Several of their singles have appeared in the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart and Capture/Release reached No. 32 in the UK Albums Chart. The final single release from Capture/Release, "All Too Human", was released in the UK on 27 February 2006 and reached their best chart position (No. 22).

The Rakes' second album, Ten New Messages was released by V2 Records on 19 March 2007. This album was produced by Jim Abiss (who has also worked with Arctic Monkeys, Editors and Kasabian) and Brendan Lynch (who has worked with Primal Scream). It was recorded in Mayfair Studios in London during the autumn of 2006.

The band's third album, called Klang, was recorded at Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin in a studio that was the former East German Government's centre for radio broadcasts.

The Rakes accompanied Franz Ferdinand on their You Could Have It So Much Better... tour during the winter of 2005. They toured the UK throughout January and February 2006 – supported by White Rose Movement, Duels, Young Knives, Switches and Klaxons. They also completed their first tour of the UK since the release of Ten New Messages, including their biggest headline concert to date, a sold out show at Brixton Academy.

The Rakes were known for their dress style: stripey tops or polo shirts, black drainpipe jeans and black trainers. They were associated with the Fred Perry, Dior Homme and Louis Vuitton brands. The Rakes also provided the soundtrack to the Dior Homme fashion show, with the song "The World Was A Mess, But His Hair Was Perfect".

On 22 October 2009, The Rakes announced that the band was to split with immediate effect: "The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we’ve ever played. If we can’t give it everything then we won’t do it. That was the rule we set ourselves from day one".

Drummer Lasse Petersen has since joined Wolf Gang.