Ten New Messages

Ten New Messages is the second album from London based indie rock band The Rakes. The album was released on March 19, 2007 and reached number 38. The first single from the album—"We Danced Together"—was released on March 12, 2007 reaching number 38 on the British singles chart. The second single is "The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect," and was released on July 16, 2007.

Speaking about the album, lead singer Alan Donohoe said, "The album was inspired by a combination of choral music, the television show 24, Bond theme tunes, World War I poets and the Sugababes".^[1]

The Rakes also went on their biggest ever UK tour playing 11 gigs over 13 days in March 2007.^[2]

Track listing

On January 16, 2007 the track listing for the album was confirmed on the band's official website.^[3] It is as follows:

1. "The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect" - 5:02
2. "Little Superstitions" - 3:51
3. "We Danced Together" - 3:53
4. "Trouble" - 3:16
5. "Suspicious Eyes" - 3:48
6. "On a Mission" - 3:06
7. "Down with Moonlight" - 3:56
8. "When Tom Cruise Cries" - 4:48
9. "Time to Stop Talking" - 3:38
10. "Leave the City and Come Home" - 3:45

Japanese bonus tracks

11. "Cold"

12. "Dangerous"

13. "We Danced Together" (SebastiAn Remix)

Trivia

• The line "The TV's on with Tom Cruise crying on his father's bed" in the song "When Tom Cruise Cries" is a reference to the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia.
• The two guest artists on "Suspicious Eyes" are Asian rapper Raxstar and London-based singer/songwriter Laura Marling. Singer Alan Donohoe found them on the social networking site MySpace and asked them to appear on the album.
• The cover artwork shows the words "The Rakes - Ten New Messages" in morse code.

References