The Rapture Offers Us Pieces of the People We Love

Three years after Echoes (2003), The Rapture revitalize dance punk with Pieces of the People We Love (2006). The Rapture have long been an act more important than their popularity. Their unusual piercing rhythms and bold vocals have inspired other artists, perhaps even achieving the rare feat of sounding "new." However, their shrill vocals and constant driving noise have also deterred many potential fans. With this album, their raucous unrepentant loops of sound are reinvented with a more palatable, but still innovative, timbre.

While they've lost some of their repetitive jarring, do not assume The Rapture no longer lives close to the edge. Pieces of the People We Love features lyrics approaching stream of consciousness, quavering vocals, and sharp sound effects. Still, it's easier living on the edge when you have a little help from guest artists to keep your sound steady. According to the band's home page (therapturemusic.com), The fresh British indie producers, Ewan Pearson and Paul Epworth, offer their touch to most of the record. Danger Mouse (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz) also offers his sound artistry on the tracks "Calling Me" and "Pieces of the people We Love." But why did The Rapture scrap their old production team and revise their sound to a less confrontational, more dance-friendly pitch?

Their lyrics do not read like essays, but they do offer hints to their intentions. In the intriguingly titled track, "Whoo! Alright! Yeah - Uh Huh!", they proclaim, "People don't dance no more/They just stand there like this/They cross their arms and stare you down and drink and moan and piss." The whole albums reads like a reaction to their contemporary emo indie bands whom self-righteously proclaim superiority to the mainstream. The Rapture is different, but just because they take a different path than the mainstream doesn't mean they're not still gunning for dance's nervous system like many mainstream hits.

The Rapture's tracks combine a multitude of influences while their vocals suggest simple solutions to difficult problems. "Get Myself Into It" highlights their struggle, "Don't you tell me that I'm fine... Cause I'll show you that you're blind." But their solution is one of immediate action, "Don't be late... at God's gate. Don't talk shit... out with it!" Their subject areas may not always be vivid, but their attitude is straight-forward.

On the downside, some of the tracks do not hold up to the rest of the album. "Down For So Long" borrows from the wrong places, switching up the rolling rhythms for a bouncy twang and uneven phrase emphasis. "Live in Sunshine" sounds like someone accidentally added a track from some miscellaneous drawled out album. At least it comes at the end. Perhaps the darkest bottom-line for the whole album revolves around the vocals: If the high pitched and hyperactive vocals do not resonate with you, you're not going to enjoy this album. However, the album is a clear step-up from their first album, particularly in terms of appealing instrumentation and loops.

Works Cited:

"Bio." The Rapture Music. April 5, 2008.