The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love

One of the hyped pace-setters in the early ’80s revivalist movement of the past few years, The Rapture have perhaps wisely bided their time before following up 2003’s stellar debut ‘Echoes‘. In the three years leading up to ‘Pieces Of The People We Love‘, the four New Yorkers have seen their thunder stolen by a new wave of new-wavers, headed up by the likes of Bloc Party and Franz Ferdinand.
While they have clearly employed subtle changes in their sound, there is no attempt made to cast off the dance-punk/indie-disco/punk-funk (delete as appropriate) framework within which they operate.
Replacing the DFA with Paul Epworth and Ewan Pearson behind the boards, the result is a punchier sound, with the disco percussion to the fore and warring bass and lead guitars reduced to a supporting role. Lead single ‘Get Myself Into It’, in particular, suggests their well-worn copies of ‘Entertainment’ have been replaced by a healthy fascination with ‘Remain In Light’-era Talking Heads.
Klaxons fans will be blown away by the stunning new-raver ‘The Sound’, while super producer Dangermouse (of Gnarls Barkley and Gorillaz fame) pops up on two tracks; adding jittery lo-fi beats to ‘Calling Me’ and the skippable title track.
The foursome come into their own in the album’s middle section, where the grooves are truly irresistible. ‘The Devil’ and ‘Whoo! Alright - Yeah… Uh Huh’ show the band at their best; the tight, propulsive bass and resolute disco drums serving as the grounding for explosions of Afro-funk guitar and proclamations such as “I say the lineage runs Morrison, Patti Smith then me”. It’s clear The Rapture aren’t taking anything too seriously besides the music - while they may have initiated a stylistic revolution three years ago, they now seem content to let the pretenders wear their crown while they strut off to the next party.

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