The Raputure's new venture will get you moving
Pieces of the People We Love
The Rapture want you to dance.
Okay, maybe they need you to dance. That is, after all, the single purpose of their music, as we found out in 2002 when “House of Jealous Lovers” lit a firestorm of critical buzz. The angular guitars, spastic vocals, rib-rattling bass and hyper Latin rhythms showed the indie kids that you could write dance songs about nothing, but still have plenty of room for experimentation.
They know they have our attention now. Pieces of the People We Love discards the roughness of their earlier work, which was probably the ‘credibility' they needed for the indie kids to pay attention. As a result, reactions are going to be mixed on this one. The Rapture have a much more polished sound now and the production is meticulous.
Not that this compilation is a step back for them. If anything, they'll draw more people onto the dance floor with a more accessible sound. Tracks like “Get Myself Into It” and “The Devil” have hooks that will be stuck in your head for days.
As an album however, which is what I'm reviewing, the execution is a bit weak. The Rapture are experimenting with many different sounds, from the aggressive industrial beats of DJ Danger Mouse-produced “Callin Me,” to the minimalist funk of “First Gear”. These tracks and most of the others stand up well on their own, but don't seem to fit very well with their neighbours on the tracklist (which inexplicably begins with two of the weakest songs on the album,) There's nothing wrong with a varied album, but don't put this CD on at a party: the flow just isn't right for a dance floor set.
Despite this album's missteps, if The Rapture's gambit pays off and they breakthrough to mainstream radio play, we could see four or five solid singles out of Pieces of the People We Love in the coming year. Enjoy it now, before it succumbs to Gnarls Barkley-style radio overplay.
Questions? Suggestions? E-mail me at shotsinthedark@gmail.com.
