By: Geoff Topley
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Released on November 3, 2014 via Xtra Mile Recordings
I feel slightly more reassured after finding out that Reuben never achieved anything more than cult status from their debut album’s release in 2004. The Surrey 3-piece have re-issued Racecar is Racecar Backwards in the obligatory 2CD set with various odds and ends to make up an incredible 36 track collection. I have to admit that this is the first time I’ve ever heard Reuben; it’s only recently that the band’s name even ventured into view of my radar. Must have been some of my Echoes and Dust cohorts who pointed me in their direction hence the curiosity. Well, add another member to the cult following because this is a very good rock album that ought to have been, well, successful I suppose considering it wasn’t, commercially at least. You don’t get to record sessions for Steve Lamacq, Lauren Laverne and XFM without having something about you and the additional session tracks highlight just how tight the combination of Jamie Lenman (Guitar/Vocals), Jon Pearce (Bass) and Guy Davis (Drums) were.
Spawning an impressive 16 tracks, Racecar is a solid set of melodic heavy rocking tunes that have great crunchy riffs, monstrous bass lines and some seriously good drumming. Lenman’s voice is a focal point, switching from a Corey Taylor growl to a (actually…Corey Taylor again) rasping singing style. Usually within the first verse too I might add. However, it’s the sounds of other bands that I hear throughout that probably led to the band not rising above the parapet of success.
Opener ‘No-one Wins the War’ goes for it early on with choppy riffage, dynamic shifts in tempo and melody and lets you know what you’re going to be hearing for the next 15 tracks. There’s a brooding tension in the verse of ‘Horror Show’ and a meaty simplicity in the chorus. The metallic edge to ‘Stuck in My Head’ is the first of several really big melodic choruses, but the track has some vulnerable quieter moments too. I’m hearing Sugar in the fluidly uplifting melodies of ‘Oh the Shame’, a superb metallic meltdown ending the song.
When Reuben go for the punk sound, the quality dips though and ‘Fall of the Bastille’ overdoes the scratchy riffs, losing the line of melodies that have been prevalent. The trashy ‘Our Song’ is thankfully over after 2 minutes of unmemorable melody and direction. Biggest hit (No.53 fact fans!) ‘Freddy Krueger’ sounds too much like Fall Out Boy for me to enjoy it. The curse of sounding too much like so many other bands of the era hits hard on ‘Let’s Stop Hanging Out’ which might explain how I missed them. The sum of too many parts adding up to a shrug.
But we get back on track with ‘Tonight My Wife Is Your Wife’, a toe-tapping memorable song with guitars colliding with propulsive drumming. The heavy chug of ‘Eating Only Apples’ has a fine groove and vocal interplay, but ends too abruptly on me, a huge slamming riff cut short just as my head starts to bang. There’s more restraint and melody with the satisfying chunky guitars of ‘Song for Saturday’ and it’s all the better for it. To these ears ‘Moving to Blackwater’ apes Nirvana too much though it’s still a fine tune.
Saving the best to last, ‘Wrong and Sorry’ is the perfect combination of pile driving guitars and drums and off kilter melody. Final tune ‘Dusk’ is the band’s absolute highlight, a mid-paced and extremely melodic tune that recalls prime Pearl Jam when tunes were important to them. Lenman turns in another passionate performance over rumbling bass, rolling drums and swirling guitars.
The session tracks from various notable radio shows prove the band could play and recreate the studio sounds with added feeling and fun. Each of the demo tracks show the transition to studio recording must have been fairly seamless. In actual fact, had these been presented to me as the final version I would have been impressed. Notably in the PR, Lenman comments that the production on the album was criticised. I’d say it’s actually very good indeed. The standout tracks on Disc 2 are the Steve Lamacq session version of ‘Eating Only Apples’, which has a groovy metallic joy that really shines through showing the fun the band must have had while recording it. The slowed up and heavier version of ‘Dusk’ shows just how fine a song it is.
If you are one of those fans who stuck with the band through another two albums, then the chances are you will want to indulge in the bonus tracks as they are of a high quality not to mention quantity. If this is your first introduction to Reuben then I would certainly recommend acquiring a copy. Who knows, maybe the band will end their hiatus and get a second chance.
