The Rapture
Pieces of the People We Love
(Universal/Motown)
The Music Box's #20 album of 2006
First Appeared in The Music Box, November 2006, Volume 13, #11
Written by John Metzger
Even for an era in which ’80s retro flashbacks are commonplace, The Rapture’s latest effort Pieces of the People We Love frequently sounds out of place. Given that the outfit began its life emulating The Cure, it’s not surprising that at least a touch of gothic doom drips into the group’s lyrics or that front man Luke Jenner occasionally makes his point by emulating Robert Smith’s anguished wail. In blending its propulsive rhythms with its nervously agitated arrangements, however, the ensemble also draws from the Talking Heads’ twin gems Remain in Light and Speaking in Tongues — most notably on Whoo! Alright Yeah...Uh Huh — while Live in the Sunshine tones down the thumping beats and clanging cowbells to reveal the hazy, lysergic pop of The Beatles. Elsewhere, Get Myself into It adds darting saxophones to the euphoric disco of U2’s Pop; the title track, which features backing vocals from Gnarls Barkley’s Cee-Lo Green, marches along like Gary Glitter’s Rock & Roll; and Thomas Dolby-style synthesizers collide with jagged, wriggling guitars on Don Gon Do It.
Granted, it often appears as if The Rapture’s lyrics lack depth, but in
truth, the elements of angst and escapism that are intertwined throughout
Pieces of the People We Love are merely a reflection of the adolescent
apathy that pervades a worldview in which so much is wrong that it’s impossible
to set it straight. The band has taken some heat for the repetitive
near-gibberish that Jenner and Mattie Safer alternately annunciate, but their
vocalizations are meant to become additional instruments that merge seamlessly
into the music’s funky grooves. Sometimes, a diversion from the day-to-day
drudgery of the evening news is necessary, and in the end, the underlying
atmosphere that The Rapture concocts on Pieces of the People We Love is
so infectious that it’s impossible not to join the fun. 
Of Further Interest...
Peter Gabriel - Play: The Videos
Pieces of the People We Love is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box