Reuben

After releasing one of the albums of last summer ‘04 with their debut Racecar is Racecar Backwards, *Reuben *are returning just over a year later to promote the first releases from their forthcoming album Very Fast, Very Dangerous. They've brought *Engerica *on tour with them. As ever I thought that while the Essex threesome sound like Motorhead, Smashing Pumpkins and Dream Theater at various times they seem to mash this thrashy, prog-grunge sound into one generic metal clatter which sounds occasionally puerile and often strained and created in that way that music really ought not be. However, let us not dwell on such matters and move swiftly on to the main event.

Reuben's bread + butter = rock approach has clearly been honed to a more dramatic and furious beast in recent months. Introducing wholly unwieldy song titles has never been a problem for affable frontman Jamie Lenman, which is lucky when new track ‘For Every Teenager Who Listens to Drum & Bass, a Rock Star Dies' comes along. Reuben peppers the audience with new anthem after old anthem after new anthem and they lap it up in that inimitable style: kids going nuts for rock. No roll. As per usual.

This band is the most consistently GREAT band I have seen. Just like the bread + butter that they use, you always know what you're getting. There may be a slightly different flavour here and there but there is no liver pate forthcoming. And in that way there seems to be little potential in seeing *Reuben *play a mind-blowing show. While the Surrey rockers still have a wonderful support base it doesn't seem to be growing. There can be no disputing the fact that they sold a (reasonably-sized) shedload of their debut album but you have to wonder if there is any progress being made. You'd hope so.