Reviews | ||
RTÉ Entertainment - "Other Voices 3" - June 16 2005 The third series of 'Other Voices' has featured such talented Irish acts as Paddy Casey, Republic of Loose and The Divine Comedy, as well as Donovan, Eddi Reader and The Cowboy Junkies from the international music scene. It stands to reason then that the accompanying live album would boast a number of notable tracks from the series. Joe Chester gets the proceedings off to a fine start with 'A Drop of Rain', followed by the energetic Republic of Loose's 'Hold Up'. The album moves from up-tempo to introspective smoothly, nicely capturing the intimacy of the setting and the relaxed atmosphere. With a collection as diverse as this, everyone's bound to have their own favourites, but Eddi Reader's beautiful 'Kite Flyer's Hill' is among the highlights, as are Declan O'Rourke, Paddy Casey, Emiliana Torrini and Mark Lanegan's offerings. A few of the tracks, Donovan's 'Sunshine Superman' and Steve Earle's 'Ellis Unit 1' are surprising selections, since it might be argued that they played stronger songs than these in their sets, but that's really a matter of taste. Any quibbles about what was or wasn't included should be well and truly quieted by the quality of the collection. Katie Moten
N.M.E. - "Girls And Magazines"
wheresthecraic - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
James Malone
Local Ireland - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
It’s possibly that this was so unexpected that it’s been viewed in such light, few bands can come out with such energy and maturity on their fist outing, but Ten Speed Racer are in top gear (pardon the pun) throughout this gem of a record. Both singles are featured, but they’re easily outshone by the title track and tracks like ‘Knife’ (do I hear the ghost of Power of Dreams here?) This is further proof that the independent music industry still has one up on their major label counterparts. ‘Eskimo Beach Boy’ may be huge, it may be forgotten in months, but that’s hardly the point, the songs bring you back to a time when music seemed more pure.
Published by: Local Ireland
splendidezine - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
Ten Speed Racer's strength is cranking out music that's instantly familiar, while at the same time absolutely energizing. The second track, "Knife" (unaccountably not one of the band's previous singles), opens with a quick strum of electric guitar that's joined by the rest of the group for an irresistible romp. The rueful chorus ("Could it be that I adore you?/Heaven help me") and insistent melody aren't innovative; you've heard this type of romantic two-and-a-half minute fuzzball before, but that doesn't mean a damn thing when the song's actually playing. You wish it would never stop, yet its energy is so contained that adding minutes would only court anticlimax. "January" yearns, "Eskimo Beach Party" stomps, "Lunar Junkies" hides a layer of electronic squiggles as a nearly subconscious counterpoint to the song's brooding surface. A melancholy romantic lament with swirls of feedback and piano set to a thudding beat, the pretty "Yo Yo" engages with the sadly ingratiating chorus, "You can shout at me like a stray dog/And rub my ears in the garden sun/I'll wag my tail whenever you're near me/And watch every move just 'cause it pleases you." One of Eskimo Beach Boy's greatest strengths is its pacing, which moves easily between mid-tempo numbers, quiet meditations and the full-throttle rock of tracks like "Knife" and the title song. The first nine songs occupy only half an hour, with each ending well before staleness sets in. ("Yo Yo", the nearly ten minute closer, might have been trimmed, but by that point the album has you in its thrall and it's useless to protest this small indulgence.) The group's ability to arrange these songs so effectively provides an indication of their individual quality: there's not a failed attempt in the bunch. Ten Speed Racer should find themselves welcomed to these shores with open arms. Ryan Tranquilla
rocket-fuel.com - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
Juyi Yoo, March 1 2002
adequacy.net - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
Of course, this conundrum helps make this record such a smooth listening experience. The band acknowledges its influences without directly channelling them, helping the disc sound both familiar and new at the same time. "Car Crash" kicks off the disc with a Rentals-esque piece of pop. Dermot Barrett's vocals slightly recall Mark Lanegan here as he watches the driver of the car stumble bloody from the wreckage, wondering, "Had she killed her passenger?" The song takes a twist when Barrett finds "What I didn't realize was that I saw it from the car / Had I been the passenger?" giving the song a very morbid vibe to go along with the otherwise chipper music. "Knife" is a short little guitar pop ditty a la Sugar or Teenage Fanclub, while "January" is a more lulling, acoustic-based track with a cool slide-guitar piece during the song's bridge. The first three tracks are pretty solid, but they're blown out of the water by the fuzz-guitar romp of the disc's title track. The one-note piano spikes in the background drive the already pulsing "Eskimo Beach Boy" into a furious tone. This track reminds me of old Spoon material (especially the driving "Quincy Punk Episode"). The slow, melancholy drone of "Sidewalk Monkey Typhoid" winds down and leads into "Hang on Starlight," a dreamy, flowing pop song with a very spacey atmosphere. The focal guitar line for "Starlight" drags over into the album's other standout track, the space-rock sprawl of "Lunar Junkies." The guitar line continues on underneath the carefully measured roll of the track as it flows along like a space cowboy's sad, sad song. When the song winds down, the original guitar line resurfaces and fades out itself, creating a really spooky vibe. "Ballad of Greedy Man" sticks out on the disc with an out-of-nowhere alt-country groove. Remarkably, it works well to pick the disc up after the previous six-minute space-rock dirge. "Death to Disco" is another Spoon-like track, though this one is a little more controlled than the last one. The chorus is remarkably catchy, thanks to the cool stop-and-go crunchy rhythm guitars. The nine-minute drone of "Yo-Yo" seems to be the only regrettable track on the disc. The guitar drone and mechanical beat would've been better served to cut off at around the four-minute mark. Still, it's easy to simply hit stop on the CD player, seeing as this is the last track on the disc. All in all, Eskimo Beach Boy is a pretty solid debut effort for Ten Speed Record. Barrett's voice mimics Mark Lanegan's on more than one track, and musically, the band alternately resonates between Teenage Fanclub, Spoon, and the Dandy Warhols. All in all, it adds up to a familiar, yet fresh listen. Gary
Aske Reviews - "Eskimo Beach Boy"
Every once in a while you run across something that reminds you that Dublin has produced some of the most important music of each decade (U2 in the 80s, My Bloody Valentine in the 90s). While I'm not going to suggest Ten Speed Racer is Dublin's answer for the present decade, they are substantially different from the current crop of American and British indies to be worth a listen. "Car Crash" starts out the album with an infectious verse and an evocative chorus. Similar to Radiohead or Blur, but with a particular regionalism that keeps the music just one step ahead of being pinned down--this track really stands out. The songs that follow don't have as powerful of an impact, "January" and "Knife" being folk-tinged fluff pieces, the title track banging along with little development or intensity, and "Sidewalk Monkey Typhoid" sedating you into wondering where you've been for the last 5 minutes of listening. "Hang On Starlight" is a little repetitive but what it lacks in lyrical creativity, it makes up for with a great synth melody a decent arrangement which floods over into the mildly psychedelic "Lunar Junkies." Next come their two big UK singles. These are interesting in how different they are from each other. "The Ballad of Greedy Man" seems like it would best be played on an adult contemporary station; while "Death to Disco" brings to mind David Bowie playing with the Leaving Trains. The final track is a near 10-minute epic, lacking anything of real interest except for an almost imperceptible change of texture across time. While the more "subtle" pieces are quickly forgotten, Ten Speed Racer has some great moments on this disc. Ryan McKay
soundclick.com - "Ten Speed Racer" 10 SPEED RACER are three part the brothers Barrett and one part mate Terri Cullen. The band have been compared to everyone from Talk Talk to Blur, but 10 SPEED RACER are making their own unique brand of music. The band all hail from Dublin and they each bring a certain spirit and magic to their music that only three brothers and a close friend can. After only a few live performances in Dublin in early 1999 under another name (as far as the band are concerned, they never existed before this incarnation, so they won’t let us tell you their old name), the band were pulled into the studio by some interested parties to contribute to a successful charity album alongside some of Ireland’s most well known bands. Soon after, the band were brought once again into the studio; this time by a U.K. publisher. The aim; to see what they were made of… Turns out that the band’s recordings sounded pretty amazing, so with the help of their new publisher friends they decided to release an E.P. of these songs on their own. It gained a lot of attention and after a few sales and some Internet attention, the band found that their gigs were drawing larger and larger crowds and an increasing amount of A&R Reps. Shunning all the attention, and recognizing that they really had something special, the band went into seclusion in the West of Ireland to write, rehearse, and begin recording their debut album, ESKIMO BEACH BOY. Several new songs, a publishing deal and a name change later they found themselves with several major record labels on their doorsteps. They, being of the independent minded sort, chose to go with long-time supporters Reverb Records. Their debut full-length album gets a release through Reverb in May 2000. After putting out the album in Ireland in May, the band heads straight to the East coast of America for a May/June release and tour. After spending the summer promoting the album in England and Ireland, they return to America in September/October 2000 for a full on Western U.S. tour. Keep an eye on the REVERB RECORDS website (www.reverbr.com) for more TEN SPEED information, soundclips, photos and tour dates…
Local Ireland - Ten Speed Racer live Much has been made of Nina Hynes over the past couple of years; due mainly to her own creativity and determination. Tonight was the last of three gigs before she (and co-headliners Ten Speed Racer) headed Stateside for a two-week tour. Ten Speed Racer didn’t disappoint either. Their eagerness was evident from the opening bar and by the time they got to their debut single ‘Ballad of Greedy Man’ they’d won over most of the skeptics. It’s hard to sum up exactly what it is that they do, but it’s safe to say they do it very well. Some songs bare similarities to Wilco and The Jawhawks, then the rest remind you of anyone from Blur to The Clash. The end of the night drew closer and both acts had the last of their notes mended, chords rounded and vocals harmonized. America loomed and they looked ready. Daniel Hegarty
Miscellaneous reviews
"As assured a debut as you'll hear this year"
"TSR's debut album is easily one of the year's best"
"A finely crafted album"
"Oh yeah. Fresh faced and fancy free, this is the kind of guitarry pop it's cool to like. Unashamedly upbeat 'Girls And Magazines' boasts a top of the line collection of five power pop rock jewels fresh from The Racer's bike shed, a decidely promising taster of the new album which is due to follow in June."
"Tenspeedracer will be around for a long, long time"
"From the band that seems to have sprung from nowhere comes what should be one of the albums of the year-The songs bring you back to a time when music seemed more pure"
"Reminiscent of another late and great Dublin band, Rollerskate Skinny."
"FROM DUBLIN via thousand US indie seven-inches, Ten Speed Racer mix scratchy punk rock, sumptuous, layered instrumentation and floaty, dreamy vocals in songs which recall a blissed-out Pavement or Guided By Voices covering the Beach Boys. A summer EP ahead of time, 'Girls And Magazines' is fresh,inventive, winsome and effortlessly cool. Sweet."
"RACING HEAD: An Irish relocation from Dublin to the more rural surroundings of Wexford is proving to have creative benefits for five-piece rock outfit Ten Speed Racer. The band's five-track EP, Girls And Magazines, became its first British release on April 22nd on Red Flag, highlighting it's urgent blend of guitars and harmonies. Ten Speed Racer previously secured a U.S release(but not a UK one) for its debut album, Eskimo Beach Boy (ReverbRecords), but lead singer Dermot Barrett explains that since the group got away from city life, things have shifted up a gear: "What made this record so good was that we moved out of Dublin, and it's a whole different ball game." Ten Speed Racer, who played an impressive gig on April 23 at London's Studio Club, betray few native musical roots. "It's grand to be Irish, but to be stickered with it is such a pain," Barrett says. "We don't sound a sniff Irish, which is great." PAUL SEXTON
"These Dublin boys have all of Ireland buzzing and soon they will have everyone on this side of the Atlantic racing to get Eskimo Beach Boy. Clean cut, hook filled songs, complete with with flirty keyboards, crooning vocals, and garage rock guitars. Smart, punchy, indie pop that gets better with every listen. Keep an eye out for Ten Speed Racer live in a city near you." | ||
'Dubliner's Ten Speed Racer may be staring into the dirty waters of the liffey, but in their hearts they are bathed in the glow of a thousand californian summers. Lead track ' Don't Go Out' has the melodic sensibilities of teenage Fanclub or Travis but dig deeper and there's a whole goldmine of drunken horn sections and angry guitars. A winner." JW, NME
10 SPEED RACER are the brothers Barrett and friend Terri Cullen. The Dublin band have been compared to everyone from Talk Talk to Blur, but 10 SPEED RACER have their own unique attributes. Each member lends a unique quality which transpires in their music. The band blend particularly well in "Ballad of greedy man" with the inclusion of a banjo which is a beautiful sound to hear in a climate of modern musical mayhem. The band went to the West of Ireland to write, rehearse, and record this debut album, ESKIMO BEACH BOY. The product is a good solid, fast paced Indie record. The music isn't necessarily a hundred percent original but tracks like "Hang on starlight" and the very emotive last track "yo yo" do stick out as individual creations. A quality album worth investing in and a definite band to watch out for in the near future.
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