Austinist CD Review: The Rapture - Pieces Of The People We Love

So forget about that one. And forget about "Get Myself Into It", which would be a pleasant enough dance-pop tune were it not for the weird, gratuitous swearing, or the sneaking suspicion the track began as a cover of The Stooges’ "Fun House." This is the digital era, after all; track listings are as meaningless as the concept of “intellectual property.” Delete.

The rest of the record fares much better, with several tracks summoning the untouchable power of "Jealous Lovers." From the psychedelic dub of "Callin Me" to the throbbing slow-burn "First Gear" to the charmingly pro-temperance party-starter "Woo Alright Yeah Uh-Huh" (“free spirits ain’t settin nobody’s spirit free,” indeed), track for track Pieces hits more often than it misses. In fact, the good times are so dense and sparkly they border on hallucinatory; there aren’t really any breaks from the full-on disco beats and catty baby-c’mon vocals. Which we suppose is the main disappointment here; where’s the come-down? Echoes’ moments of trippy balladry—the water-and-smoke-break—are quite missed, and the fact that those delicate moments have been replaced by glorified b-sides is difficult not to take personally.

Unlike Echoes, Pieces isn’t a classic, but that still adds up to one classic The Rapture has that your band doesn’t. It’s best to judge Pieces as you would an R. Kelly record: you’re not going to listen to the whole thing, and you’re not going to judge it as a cohesive artistic statement rife with potent metaphors for the human condition—you’re going to throw it on and get fixed up with stone-cold jams, and that’s that. Seriously--just look at that Yellow Submarine-aping cover! These cats are serious about giving you a good time. We suppose getting signed to Motown does that to people.