The Rapture Create Dancepunk Manifesto

By Allan Mendoza, A&E Editor

"The Hipster Handbook" references The Rapture a few times while hinting at the notion the band is the premier hipster band. The circumstances behind its release have become bad news for those who have been totting The Rapture shirts for over a year, preaching the band as the next big thing.' Major label signing? Check. Hyped up and painfully delayed? Check. Is dance-punk still deck'? Maybe, but as if that mattered; Echoes is dance-punk's battle cry as it charges into the mainstream.

Echoes begins with "Olio" channeling "Seventeen Seconds" era-Cure through singer Luke Jenner. If Interpol's Paul Banks voice resembles that of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis, then Jenner's Robert Smith impression is a dead ringer at times. Minimal electronic beats and synths with a sprinkle of syncopated guitars work suspiciously well with Jenner's lyrics.

"I Need Your Love" almost sounds like a laugh in the face of over 10 years of poorly produced house music anthems. It starts off with a stereotypical keyboard riff, but a minute or two later, atonal saxophone and xylophone sneak their way in, backing up Jenner's voice. If the first minute was looped, it would be almost embarrassing to dance to; but with the flourishes of instrumentation, it makes the song sound like the most intelligent thing this side of the American-Canadian border.

The single "House of Jealous Lovers" was the first taste anyone had of The Rapture. Released a year ago, its raw production and Jenner's wailing fired up the hype machine and dismay that the album took so long to finish. The song still retains the same powerful effect it had when it was released. In the context of an album consisting of songs that sound even more substantial than what's considered the best track at the time, all you can have is an even greater respect for The Rapture.

Not everything on Echoes is something that can pass as club music. Album closer "Love is All" vaguely resembles a distorted cover of a U2 ballad. An even farther departure, "Open Up Your Heart" swaggers lazily, being led along by a piano blues riff. Both are far from bad, but kill some of the energy driving the album considering everything else sounds like a subliminal advertisement for stimulants.

For those pretentious hipsters still sticking up their noses, too bad. They'll need a new T-shirt to wear under that Salvation Army purchased blazer anyway. But for the rest of us, Echoes is probably the best "fun" album since The Strokes' Is This It. So go ahead, dance and sing along, anything to get this album under your skin. The future has arrived, albeit fashionably late.