After being not very impressed at all with Reuben's second album Very Fast, Very Dangerous i was hoping to hear a brilliant record now that they have had time to sit back and write some songs without record label's telling them when and how. There are some brilliant songs on this album like Cities on Fire and Blood, Bunny, Larkhall and even the sweet Good luck.. But this album is not a Racecar. There are moments when hearing this album that i thought it was absolutely outstanding but there were also songs that i thought were very poor. The one problem i have with Reuben is the lyrics. I really think they should think more about what they are singing about. For example "You're dressed like a victorian at a swimming pool> I dont even know what a victorian at a swimming pool looks like but i thought the way this part was put together was really classy and quite good. But the lyrics seem a little silly. "Crushed under the weight of the enormous Bullshit" is a song that really should've had the lyrics changed completely, it's stupidly written about how Jamie wants to hear a new Nevermind, but don't we all...?
Musically i think this album, as with all Reuben albums/songs is outstanding. They're all very clever musicians and if they sorted out the lyrics i think they could easily write an album that would beat Racecar is Racecar Backwards. As a lot of people had a tainted view on Racecar because it was too long.
If you like Reuben, buy it. If you think they're alright, buy it. If you want to get into Reuben, the answer still stays the same. Buy Racecar. But then buy this next as i think it is alot better than VFVD.
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Advantages: Amazing for any reuben fan, and a huge improvement from the last release. Disadvantages: A definite change in the overall direction of the music
Advantages: Amazing for any reuben fan, and a huge improvement from the last release. Disadvantages: A definite change in the overall direction of the music