#177
The Rapture - Echoes (2003, DFA)
In retrospect, from the viewpoint of a music fan in 2010, it is easy to question why everyone got so excited about the whole "indie kids are dancing again" vibe of the dance-punk renaissance. A quick listen to Echoes, however, reveals that there was initially plenty to be excited about, at least until the Hot Hot Heats of the world reduced it to mere formula. Not only does this record contain "House of Jealous Lovers", one of the defining singles of the entire dance-punk era (the other being !!!'s "Me and Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard"), but it also presents a livelier, more varied approach than any of the trendhopping latecomers were able to take note of, let alone try to build upon. While "House of Jealous Lovers" and "I Need Your Love" deservedly got much of the love from the dance-floor packing DFA acolytes, I think the most exciting tracks are those that mine the depths of post-punk skronk in search of great beats. "Heaven", "The Coming of Spring", and the title track rely on live instrumentation and angular guitars to approximate that jittery, hyper-intense sound that made the original run of post-punk so exciting. It isn't hard to imagine several of these being released as Factory 12-inches early in the 80s, while some of the ultra-skronky sax comes across straight up No New York. But what makes this all work so well is the sense of urgency and energy packed into the album, from the cowbell-bashing build of "Jealous Lovers" to the Mick Ronson guitar riff in "Love is All" to the "1 2 3 4 kick that fucker our the door" exhortation in "Killing". The energy is electrifying throughout, even when a few curveballs get thrown. A particular favorite for me is "Open Up Your Heart", a sparse ballad featuring subtle drums, bass, and piano which is basically a bop jazz tune dressed up as indie rock (trust me, it's all in the drums). Everything wraps up with "Infatuation", a murky acoustic ballad that could pass for Amnesiac-era Radiohead by simply replacing Luke Jenner's quirky yelps with Thom Yorke's moaning. In a genre that was defined early on by the 12" single, The Rapture proved with Echoes that dance-punk could easily sustain a full-length album when approached correctly.
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