The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love

Let me preface this post by saying welcome. To those of you who care to know, this blog is for me. It is for me to explore the music going on in my head all day everyday. Sometimes I just don't have anybody around worth talking to music about, or just nobody who really cares. So, this is for me to talk to everyone and no one. This is for me to share with everybody and to keep to myself. This is for music. This is for you. This is for me.

Let me also say that despite this first, and only post to base any sort of presumptions on, this blogs main function will not be to review albums. That is not to say I won't be reviewing albums. Obviously. That is not to say that most of my posts won't be reviews. Because really. Who knows. My point is, this is for me to express my feelings on the music presently besieging my delicate sensibilities. Also, apparently some labels send shiny new demos to bloggers of my like. So cheers.

The Rapture - Pieces of the People We Love

It has been about three years since the release of the somewhat controversial Echoes. Now, I say controversial because after the release of "House of Jealous Lovers" in 2002, everybody was expecting something big. It's like when you're in a crowd of people and all of the sudden everybody starts running in the same direction. You're not quite sure if everybody's running to something or away, all you know is some shit is about to go down. You're not quite sure what it is, but you're excited; and if you have some sense, you're a little bit scared. Well, The Rapture didn't quite deliver the divine dance party they had all but promised. What they did was put out an album that was chock full of good stuff, just a bit messy. Now, I will never take anything away from tracks like "Echoes" or "Sister Saviour". Great, great tracks. I will, however, take away from tracks like "Heaven" and "Open Up Your Heart". When I'm playing this album, I will certainly belt out with the best of 'em on "Heaven" and true it is that I might even feel a little squishy when I hear those bittersweet vocals on the latter, but it's tracks like these that ruin albums. These are tracks that, if anything, should be either worked out a bit better or left for b-side tracks -- not quite good enough to be fillers, too downright weird to be anything else. Listening to Echoes can best be equated for me to having sex with someone who is really into it, but just doesn't quite understand the logistics of the practice. It's good, it's passionate, but it's a little confusing, unsettling, and generally just not what it could have been. A little more planning, a little more artistry, and for chrissake can we get a freaking back beat please? Okay, well maybe I'm getting away from the metaphor. Next paragraph.

Skip ahead 3 years. We find our young lovers a little bit older, a little bit wiser, and back in the studio. Let's see if our heroes have gotten a better feel for the motion of the ocean.

Don Gon Do It
Now this is the way to kick off an album. "Olio" was perhaps not a complete 180, but pretty close. It was a good start to what could have been a truly dynamite album. A slow, crescendoing, desperate plea that reaches into your soul and smacks it around a little bit as if to say, "pay attention, this is gonna be good." "Don Gon Do It" is a vibrant enticement as opposed to the sobering predecessor. This time The Rapture just wants you to put on your best shoes and head to the dance floor. Why wait to bust out the cowbells? And I, for one, would like to say, "thank you, The Rapture."
Pieces of the People We Love
When a band inserts the namesake into the track listing, it really says to me that this is to be the crux of the album. The reason it was made. Maybe not the climax, but certainly something worth dog-earring. On this album, "Pieces of the People We Love" serves as sort of a thesis statement for the rest of the tracks. Something to say this is what we're all about. Something to kind of show you what's coming. And it goes na na na na, na na na na, na na na na na na.
Get Myself Into It
Literally. They got you moving with track one, they laid out the itinerary in the second, so the only thing left is to "Get Myself Into It." Certainly a much thicker beat than the first two, still not quite to the levels of "House of Jealous Lovers", "Echoes", or "Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks". Not even close, really. But we're getting there. We're ready to throw it into first gear.
First Gear
So who got my little pun, huh? Good one, right? Well anyway, this is it. This is The Rapture we know and love. This is fun. This is groovy. This is so obsenely dancable that I'd suggest consulting a physician if some part of your body isn't moving listening to this track. But surely, this isn't it. Surely this track can't be the climax. For chrissake, IT'S ONLY FIRST GEAR PEOPLE! Onward.
The Devil
Immediately. And I mean immediately you know this is the track you've been waiting for. That throbbing bass, those squealing guitars, the savory synth hook. It's beautiful. It's everything The Rapture has proven it can do, and it couldn't have come at a better time in the album. Now this has got to be it, right? This has got to be the highest point on the album. Well if you like surprises I mean, I guess I can respect that, but just look at the next track. All I can say is onward.
Whoo! Alright - Yeah... Uh-Huh
Now a track name like this really doesn't leave a lot to the imagination. You pick up a Rapture CD, and you flip it over and read that, you know what to expect. Sadly, this was my one disappointment on the album. I really like the song, and I think it fits perfectly after "The Devil". Something to shake loose the willies. My complaint is they didn't let loose enough. This track is entirely too tame for such a thing to call it by. Still a good song though.
Calling Me
Finally The Rapture figured out how to tug at your heart strings without being completely ridiculous in the process. The first track of its kind for these guys that I feel is really a success. Definitely swayable to boot.
Down For So Long
This is the "Sister Saviour" of this album. Mattie Safer just brings such a different quality to the melodies than Jenner's exuberant swagger. And seriously, let's give it up to the percussion on this album. Vito really fills out the sound on this track especially, but the others as well. A giant leap from the messy, chaotic rhythms of "Echoes". Finally we've got the back beat to really sink our teeth into. Don't believe me? Just listen to the sound.
The Sound
Okay, I'm sorry. That wasn't nearly as good as the first gear one. But seriously, if you have any doubts about the improvement of this band, this track should really clear it up. This track has the same chaotic, messy feeling The Rapture seem to love so much, but it just flows. It's like being on one of those runaway mine car style roller coasters instead of actually being in a runaway mine car.
Live in Sunshine
This is it folks. Show's over. But what a way to go out. This track has style. It has class. It's got an uplifting quality that you might get listening to Screamadelica. You can just see the guys coming off the stage and dispersing into the crowd to make sure everybody in the audience knows exactly how much The Rapture really loves them. This is what a truly great album closer should be.


The thing about this album that excites me the most is the overall progression of their sound. The inspissation of the gaudy theatrics we have come to expect. Their potential was obvious. Three years ago, they were to be the new kings of dance punk, taking over where Radio 4 left off. Well boys, you're finally on your way. Once they figure out how to let loose with monsters like "House of Jealous Lovers" while still keeping the rest of the album up to snuff, they'll really be unstoppable.

My overall album rating (on a scale of 1-10): 8.9