Reuben have announced a deluxe re-issue of their first two albums, ‘Racecar Is Very Fast’.
Out from 11th December via Xtra Mile Recordings, it combines both 2004’s ‘Racecar Is Racecar Backwards’ and 2005’s ‘Very Fast Very Dangerous’, with exclusive new artwork designed by the band’s Jamie Lenman.
Jamie explains: “Those two records are very different but they came out a year after each other and they’re the two we did with Xtra Mile so I think they belong together, and they belong to Xtra Mile.
“We spent years making ‘Racecar’ so that’s why it’s so varied and maybe a bit too long – we were very precious about our songs and we wanted them all on the thing. By the time we did ‘Very Fast’ we’d grown up a lot in a short space of time – we had a vague idea that an album should be more of a concept, which is why it’s a bit more ‘rock and roll’ with the truck and everything.
“The second one was a reaction to the first one, we wanted to get away from long, complex songs. And then we went and put our longest song on it!”
He adds: “People kept asking me where they could buy the first two records on vinyl, and I didn’t even realise they were sold out, so I asked Xtra Mile about doing a re-press. I thought it would be cool to put together a two-pack, like you used to get in record stores when I was a kid, where you’d get two albums by the same band bundled together…
“I did some snazzy new artwork especially for the front cover and commissioned a short critical essay for the back. If you missed out on the original pressings then here they are. And if you’re a real collector you might buy it just for the new artwork – I know I would!”
