Search - Rapture :: Out of the Races & Onto the Tracks

Intermittently awesome

Elliott Brown | San Francisco | 02/06/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The Rapture is kind of an exciting band. The terms "dance punk" and "disco punk" get thrown around a lot when people describe them. Those descriptions are apt in the right context.The music on "out of the races and onto the tracks" is built around snarling garage guitar, screaming vocals, jumpy bass, and fast treble-y drums. The disco label undoubtedly refers to Matty Safer's upbeat bass work, and is most evident on the catchy, passionate title track. If you're the kind of person that'll buy a CD for one song, give track one a listen, then place your order.If you're a little more discerning or budget conscious, you might want to be wary of the rest of the album. "Modern Romance" and "Caravan" combine obnoxious punk with early psychedelic influences more along the lines of Iron Butterfly and Ten Years After than Studio 54 denizens. "The Pop Song" offers a noise-pop build-up that disintegrates into falsetto misery.The Rapture is a little hard to listen to but also promising. I wouldn't say that they're an incredibly original band (compare track one with Gang of Four's "Outside the Trains Don't Run on Time"), but with their melange of influences, they do some things no other band is doing. Worth a listen, but probably not a purchase for most music listeners."

Excellent Release

Ryan Brown | New York, New York, USA | 06/07/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This new release by the Rapture is some of the best stuff I have ever heard by them, in my opinion there is only one weak song and even still it is not a song I skip over when listening to the CD. If you ever get the chance see these guys live; they are amazing. Much better than they are on any recording. This recording though does a good job a capturing the energy they have in a live proformance. The Vocals are screamier than they have been on previous releases. This is an excellent record, This band is definitly in a league of their own."

There is hope for innovation!

Eel Nor | Richmond, Virginia United States | 05/05/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My ears pricked up to this song when I rented a DVD of the film, The Rules of Attraction (a really great low-brow art piece).This group swung my tired old butt back to like 1980, when I used to listened to about 8 bands a week in small clubs. (R.E.M., Ramones, Black Flag, ....)Some of those bands set the tone for the end of the 20th century. Rapture is as fresh and potent and they will surely take us back to a new renaissance of independant creativity. Their minimalist approach to playing real instruments, sounds like they just invented the concept."