The Rapture - Echoes (Mercury /Universal) - Album Review
Rating: 4 out of 5
The Rapture - Echoes (Mercury /Universal) The Rapture - Echoes (Mercury /Universal) - Album Review The Rapture
Echoes
(Mercury /Universal)
The Rapture come across as many things, but if you had to pin it down in comparisons, it’d probably along the lines of a cross between eighties, NY art-punk and a weird combination of house and prog-rock. As most of the members double up as keyboard players this diversity isn’t too surprising, but what’s nice about it is the fact that it breaks the ‘too many cooks’ rule – Echoes never really descends into a multi-layered hell of synthesisers. Kraftwork, this is most definitely not (no offence to the German maestros though, obviously).
But The Rapture are a weird, disjointed band, make no mistake about it. The rhythm section seems to have no clue that the lead guitar and vocals are happily screeching away as a punk duo, whist they themselves are thoroughly involved in a rocking house / disco band. Their keyboard personalities are an entirely different species again, tinkering around wherever and however they feel. Listening to Echoes, you can’t help but wonder where in the name of hell four guys got the education to make it all fit together and actually work so damn well. Other, perhaps, than a ‘special’ school for the mentally deranged.
Whilst it definitely won’t be to everyone’s taste, there will be moments here that everyone can like – just don’t expect everybody’s favourite moment to be at the same time. Echoes has a big opening, and a bit of a loss of direction (and fat) around the middle, but it has a cracking four-track finale to which shit just won’t stick. Gold stars all round.
4/5
Mark Danson