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Music Singles Ten Speed Racer: 15 (Red Flag) 
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| Ten Speed Racer: 15 (Red Flag) |
| By Michael Hulme | |
Monday, 28 July 2003 Every so often, a band comes out of left-field and announces its arrival with a release of the highest quality. Happily, this is just such a release. Ten Speed Racer peddle (get it?) a pretty heavy brand of melodic rock and roll. Imagine Teenage Fanclub if they spent hours in the gym, or the Cosmic Rough Riders without the boring bits. And so it is.On '15', they showcase soaring harmonies that owe much to the Byrds, allied to a raw and rugged wave of guitar and some inventive bass playing. 'Cowboy President' arrives on a wave of compressed guitar and distorted harmonica, and thunders along with a drum pattern that recalls 'I Am The Resurrection'. The overlapping vocals and arrangement recall long lost US bands Camper Van Beethoven (look them up) and Cracker. The introduction of some synths threatens to spoil the party, but they don't swamp the sound. A song with eight vocal lines and two chord changes has no right to sound this good. 'Was It A Moment?' is the closest thing to a filler track on this single, and even this is good - piano led, with horns and restrained drumming allowing more sunny harmonies to shine through. The arrangement and progression suggests a working knowledge of both Big Star and Cotton Mather, but acknowledges both without being in debt to either. "It's easy - got the know how," the band sing on 'Cowboy President', and they could well be singing about themselves. Pity those lesser mortals who will never manage to make quality music sound so simple. The sound of a band hitting top gear. I know. Sorry. Any how, if a picture paints a thousand words, judging by their choice of single cover, Ten Speed Racer may need a rather large collective couch to lie down on. As our editor will tell you, I'm all for gratuitous nudity, but the quality of the music should be enough to go on without getting an airbrushed model to flash her muff at us from the record shelves. (4½/5) Release Date: 28 July 2003
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All rights reserved. Editor: Afsheen Shaikh.
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