The Rapture: Pieces Of The People We Love
The Rapture storm back onto the scene with their first release since 2003's ground-breaking Echoes. A lot has changed since then.
Review by Dave Anastasi
Four years ago, House Of Jealous Lovers splashed down on dance floors like an elephant high-diving into a swimming pool, and The Rapture became an instant hit. Along with their contemporaries Liars, Radio 4, and !!!, they changed the rules, and dance-punk was reborn. As the genre has faded over the past two years, its influence has only grown. Disco beats are now commonplace among indie bands, like Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Bloc Party, Interpol, and The Arcade Fire, to name a few.
With the release of Pieces Of The People We Love, The Rapture is starting to sound more like those bands they've influenced than themselves. Their latest album is decidedly less "punk" and more glossy than its stunning predecessor, Echoes. That's not necessarily a bad thing-- just don't pop it into your CD player and expect Heaven or House Of Jealous Lovers to start pumping out of your speakers.
The first 10 seconds of the album is a decent indicator of how much has changed in the past four years. The opener Don Gon Do It fades in with a lush four-part harmony line and synthesizers. I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that the word "lush" hasn't appeared in any review ever written about anything previously produced by this band. Surely I must have cued up Yes' Big Generator by mistake! Ah, the rest of the band just kicked in-- everything's OK. Whew! But where are the guitars? And what's with all the reverb? Are The Rapture Losing Their Edge?
Well, the quick answer is "no", and I have the experience of attending Monday night's show as proof. But as we've seen time and time again, things change when bands catch a little fame and fortune. Next thing you know, you've got Cee-Lo contributing some backup vocals, DJ Danger Mouse guest-producing, and your band's sound goes from grit to slick. So, in many ways, this is the next logical step for a band like The Rapture.
This new approach works very well for much of the album, particularly for Get Myself Into It, the album's first single. The arrangement is tight and notey, but not too busy. The sax in the chorus is a breath of fresh air and complements the vocals nicely. And most importantly, the hook is catchy and the beat is infectious.
First Gear is a good song that maybe goes on for two minutes too long. I really like what they're going for, though. The extended instrumental sections, full of blippy beats and sundry electronics, call to mind LCD Soundsystem. Whoo! Alright-Yeah... Uh Huh sounds like an homage to The Talking Heads, particularly in the guitars and percussion. Though it suffers a bit from its monotonous vocals, it works well because of its aggressive beat and fantastic guitar work.
Though I really enjoy listening to Pieces, I kept hoping over the course of the album for the guitar to emerge as more of a driving force. Songs like the title track and First Gear would have benefitted from the addition of some grit. I also kept waiting for the band to lose control at some point, but it never happened. The album has neither the spontaneity nor the raw emotion of its predecessor.
Overall, this is a good record that I would likely enjoy a lot more if I could forget that Echoes ever happened. But the real question is, "why would I want to?"