The Rapture Echoes
Not since the Stone Roses unleashed Fools Gold in 1989 on a world waiting for […]
Not since the Stone Roses unleashed Fools Gold in 1989 on a world waiting for Anglo dance catharsis has a band been so hailed as the future for fusing the aesthetics of rock and the discotheque. As such, the timing of the release of The Rapture’s “House of Jealous Lovers” single was undeniable. And now, after pages and pages of hype, we have the album. Unsurprisingly, Echoes is ambitious in scope and accomplished in style. Tracks like “Olio,” which sounds like The Cure reworked by 808 State, and “Heaven,” which once again plunders Gang of Four sans social critique, deliver exactly what you’d expect. The album’s oddity-the Bowie-esque “Open Up Your Heart”-offers the only unexpected treat. Even so, it’s hard not to feel every song is transparent in its postured mimicry. Echoes is far from unpleasing, but it seems we should expect a bit more from the future than Karaoke at the No Wave runway.