Rapture, formed by vocalist and guitarist Luke Jenner (a cross between Cure's Robert Smith and
Joy Division's Ian Curtis) and drummer Vito Roccoforte,
both formerly of the synth-based new-wavers
Calculators, who released
Circuit Breaking Silence (1998) and the mini-album
Simplicity & Style (1999),
debuted in San Francisco as a retro-act that harked back to the
new wave with the single The Chair That Squeaks (1998) and the
mini-album Mirror (Gravity, 1999):
ominous, convoluted and angular post-hardcore (Frames Frames Frames).
Relocating to New York, they enlisted bassist Matt Safer and
saxophonist Gabriel Andruzzi and recorded the
mini-album Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks (Subpop, 2001), under
the supervision of production duo DFA (James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy).
The sound changed radically, veering towards the progressive funk-punk
of the Talking Heads and the
Contortions
(Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks, Modern Romance).
The influence of Public Image Ltd's gothic dance-rock
is strong on Echoes (Universal, 2003), Rapture's first full-length,
produced by DFA
(James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and
Tim Goldsworthy).
Sister Saviour (the most straightforward propulsion, anguished
Lou Reed-ian lament, fractured guitar lines)
and I Need Your Love resurrect Blondie's disco-punk madness,
but the tortured soul of Olio (syncopated poliyrhythm, grotesque synth, discrete piano)
and Heaven (one of their older tracks,
Jimi Hendrix-ian limping attack, psychedelic coda)
brings the Cure to the dancefloor,
while the shrill Killing and
the convoluted Echoes
and especially House of Jealous Lovers (their first single, African-funky-surf beat, neurotic new-wave vocals, atonal guitar)
turned dance-music into a self-flagellation process.
When they don't dance, they indulge in strange imitations of classic rock:
the decadent/fatale stance of David Bowie in
the brooding piano-driven kammerspiel of Open Up Your Heart,
Neil Young fronting the Who in the transcendental power-ballad Love Is All,
the psychedelic trance of the Velvet Underground in the gloomy slo-core dirge Infatuation.
The album has enough variety to spawn a whole family of rock, pop and dance bands.
The most successful songs achieve a disturbing sense of alienation and
frustration by staging rituals that, in the most orthodox new-wave aesthetics,
are supposed to be hedonistic but turn out
to be the opposite.
Low Income Tomorrowland (Apple Core, 2006) is a creative mix album.
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(Tradotto da Massimiliano Monteverdi e Stefano Iardella)
Formati dal cantante Luke Jenner (un incrocio fra la voce di Robert Smith dei Cure e quella di Ian Curtis dei Joy Division) e dal batterista Vito Roccoforte, i Rapture hanno esordito a San Francisco con un retro-act che si rifà alla new wave, pubblicando il singolo The Chair That Squeaks (1998) e il mini Mirror (Gravity, 1999), un post-hardcore sinistro, involuto e ridotto all’osso (Frames Frames Frames).
Stabilitisi a New York, hanno arruolato il bassista Matt Safer e il sassofonista Gabriel Andruzzi e registrato, sotto la supervisione del duo produttivo DFA (James Murphy e Tim Goldsworthy), il mini Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks (Subpop, 2001). Il loro sound subisce una mutazione radicale, virando ora verso il progressive funk-punk di Talking Heads e dei Contortions (Out Of The Races And Onto The Tracks, Modern Romance).
L’influenza del dark dance-rock dei Public Image Ltd è determinante su Echoes (Universal, 2003), il loro primo album, prodotto dai DFA (James Murphy degli LCD Soundsysteme Tim Goldsworthy). I Need Your Love riporta in vita la disco-music di Blondie, mentre Sister Saviour e soprattutto House of Jealous Lovers (il primo singolo) fanno il verso al "Madchester"sound e al suo synth-pop; il soul torturato di Olio e Heaven, due tra i loro primi pezzi, portano i Cure in discoteca, e Killing e Echoes trasformano la dance-music in un rituale privato di autoflagellazione. Quando non ballano, indulgono alle pose decadenti e fatali di Lou Reed o Tom Verlaine: l'atteggiamento decadente alla David Bowie nel meditativo kammerspiel pianistico di Open Up Your Heart, la power-ballad trascendentale Love Is All (Neil Young alle prese con gli Who), la trance psichedelica dei Velvet Underground nel cupo slo-core del lamento funebre Infatuation. L'album ha abbastanza varietà da generare un'intera famiglia di gruppi rock, pop e dance. Le canzoni di maggior successo raggiungono un inquietante senso di alienazione e frustrazione mettendo in scena rituali che, nell'estetica new wave più ortodossa, dovrebbero essere edonistici ma si rivelano essere l'opposto.
Low Income Tomorrowland (Apple Core, 2006) è un album mix creativo.
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