Album Review: In the Grace of Your Love by The Rapture

These guys were an early band in the post-punk revival. On this album they are leaning pretty heavy toward dance beats and there is something in their sound that reminds me of That Petrol Emotion.

This album is a bit off center and in some ways that's the appeal. Take a song like "Come Back to Me." It could very easily be a spiritual, but on this album it has this pained, stripped down, AM radio sound with a dance beat behind it. Now remember that the whole idea of post-punk was that they wanted to bring emotions and song structure to the fore. At the half way mark of this song the sound is completely stripped down to just Luke Jenner, a synthesizer, and a drum machine. All the pain and angst of the song is felt in that half of the song.

Jenner is also the primary lyricist for the band and since their last album a lot has happened in his life. The suicide of his mother, the birth of his first child and he uses those experiences to feed his writing. The band did a brilliant job of then building this album that fights between joy and despair.

The more I listen to this album the more I like it, and though it came out back in September it's a good fit for the winter months here in Idaho.

Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.