Artist The Rakes

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The Rakes

There's no clear reason why The Rakes didn't catapult to fame the way their contemporaries—Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand—did, especially considering the strength of 2005's Capture/Release was. A slightly lesser follow-up, Ten New Messages, didn't even get a proper U.S. release, but the natty dressers (they're fashion-designer Hedi Slimane-approved) have returned to give it another shot in advance of album number three, Klang, due out later this year. First single "1989," inspired by the album's Berlin recording, sounds like a great start.

Updated 03/26/2009