August 2, 2002

The Rapture : Out Of the Races And On To The Tracks

New Yorkers' punk-funk sketches reissued

6 / 10 Last year, before 'The House Of Jealous Lovers' metamorphosed them into the disco Strokes, The Rapture sounded like the most angst-ridden romantics in New York.

This re-released mini-album captures them at that point - pre-saxophone player, but post a lot of getting kicked around by girls to the strains of records by The Cure. 'The Pop Song' and 'Confrontation' seethe with unbelievable fervour, but not much in the way of tune. However, the title track is a corker, a headlong pelt into early '80s punk funk in which The Rapture's dance tendencies are already fully-fledged, taken past boiling point thanks to a near-hysterical performance from singer Luke Jenner.

It's a far from complete statement, but still sounds like the start of something special. The rehabilitation of indie dance starts here!

Alex Needham