The Race explode off the blocks like a rocket on their debut single with 'Go Figure'_, but it is the yearning quality of _'Raising Children' which puts the band well ahead of the competition.

‘Go Figure’ is more standard sounding rock fare but still an unapologetic, impassioned and impressive call to arms. Sounding like Muse if Mr Bellamy** was still a virgin to the opera, what it lacks in O.T.T. it makes up for with a B.I.G. chorus and its heart beating away on the sleeve unashamedly crying out “I love you.”

‘Raising Children’, however, is how The Smiths' ‘Ask’ would have sounded if written by a five-piece from Reading, turning a missive about bedroom dwellers into anthemic splendour. The drums come crashing down around singer Dan Buchanan whose sneering but earnest voice transports you away from the drabness of four walls.

An imbedded swirling piano is understated yet infectious (bearing a large resemblance to that of Coldplay’s ‘Clocks’) and completes a chorus which positively sparkles. An atmospheric middle section proves that this isn’t just blanket music for coy indie types and it’ll be interesting to see if they choose the big rock sound route or this challenging melodic path.

Still, it’s a marathon not a sprint so there’s plenty of time for The Race to figure out which direction to pursue.