Split the difference
2005 was quite some year for Reuben, releasing one of the albums of the year and playing to packed out crowds on their last tour. If you're wondering what all the fuss is about then the track on offer here (taken from 'Very Fast Very Dangerous') should explain everything.
The amusingly titled 'Every Time A Teenager Listens to Drum and Bass A Rockstar Dies' is not the strongest track off the album but it does have all the elements that make Reuben such a good band. It's punchy in the riff, melodic in the verse and just packed full of hooks and twists, in short it's just damn good infectious music. I can guarantee you'll find yourself singing the lyrics 'You're so pretty and I'm so stupid' in the most unlikely of places and that surely only goes to show how good Reuben are as songwriters. Across the four singles being released in this series you'd be hard pushed to find a track to better this, 2006 should see them take the next step up and deservedly so.
It's been quite a year for Frank Turner too, starting 2005 fronting the most exciting live band in the country in the form of Million Dead and finishing the year as a solo artist bringing contemporary grass roots folk music to a new audience. 'The Real Damage' makes it's first official appearance here (although it is included on the demo available from his website) and it's perhaps indicative of the music Frank is making at present. As with all the best folk songs it's fairly simple in structure but the real magic is in the lyrics, a story of contemporary urban life that pretty much everyone can relate to. In this case it's waking up in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by people you don't know, sound familiar? Thought so. It's a little different from the norm, it's unpretentious and it's good stuff.