Group’s first album is pure Rapture

Spencer Patterson

Friday, May 7, 2004 | 8:42 a.m.

Ubiquitous as they have become, year-end best-of music rankings are dicey propositions, to say the least.

Not only is it impossible for any single human to hear every CD from a given year, but it's a universal constant that discs released toward the end of the year often miss the cut simply due to their timing.

My own "Best of 2003" list would look far different than it did in December were I to refile it now. Albums I hadn't yet spun that would merit consideration include the Mars Volta's "De-Loused at the Comatorium," Lucinda Williams' "World Without Tears" and Cursive's "The Ugly Organ," to name just a few.

One disc that would easily make the cut this time is the Rapture's "Echoes." Released on Sept. 30, that one didn't make it into my hands until late December, after my rankings had been finalized.

Since then it has occupied a permanent spot in my CD changer at home, when it's not in my car stereo or my disc player at work, that is.

The leading figures in New York City's latest underground musical revival, the Rapture has helped make independent rock danceable and fun again.

The quartet mixes club beats with a punk attitude. Mix in off-kilter rhythms and quirky lyrics, and they have all the makings of one of the decade's unique acts.

At the start, "Echoes" sounds as if it might be just another attempt to revitalize the synthesized electroclash of the 1980s. Opening track "Olio" could have been lifted from a Cure CD, with vocalist Luke Jenner doing a dead-on Robert Smith impersonation.

But from there, the Rapture's first full-length effort turns into something totally original -- and quite bohemian -- with second cut "Heaven." In the span of four minutes, the song veers through as many stylistic changes as many artists attempt on an entire album.

Other standout cuts include the mellow, Bowie-esque "Open Up Your Heart," the pounding house anthem "I Need Your Love" and the frenzied, punk attack of the title track.

The album's centerpiece is "House of Jealous Lovers," an underground dance club sensation back in 2002. The song is trimmed slightly here, but loses none of the considerable power conjured up by Matt Safer's booming bassline and Jenner's jarring vocals and jangly guitar riffs.

The best news for Rapture fans: as good as the band's recordings are, its live show is even better. At last weekend's Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, they were sandwiched between the Pixies and Radiohead on a side stage, and outclassed both with a furious set that sounded entirely of the moment.

Artist: The Rapture.

Title: "Echoes."

Year of release: 2003 (Strummer/Universal).

Tracklisting: "Olio," "Heaven," "Open Up Your Heart," "I Need Your Love," "The Coming of Spring," "House of Jealous Lovers," "Echoes," "Killing," "'Sister Savior," "Love is All," "Infatuation."