In The Grace Of Your Love

The BBC review of the album is a very strange choice if Amazon want to actually sell it, since it is written by someone who clearly just did not get this album! If you go to 'metacritic' you will see an unusually wide range of opinions - including lots of good reviewers who think very highly of it, as I do. Obviously the Rapture's sound is not as new today as when they started, but Jenner's singing style remains unique and utterly compelling - and with maturity the songs have (if possible) gained in depth and emotional authenticity. While dealing with serious topics such as loss and death (though also renewal and love) the music is beautiful and uplifting and so ultimately positive. While the strong spiritual dimension of the album is expressed in Christian terms, this is not 'god-rock' - anyone who has swum in the sea, watched a great sunrise or danced in the rain at a festival can relate to the feelings of 'grace' and togetherness that Jenner celebrates. The sound is more stripped down the last album and this really suits the band's style of simplicity and directness. There are too many good tracks to list, and although not fast-paced many of them make me want to get up and dance, and in summary I think this is possibly their best album yet.

In the music world 5 years is an eternity and that's how long Rapture fans have waited for a new album.The last time we saw the band they were taking a punt at the proper big time employing U2's manager,signing to a major label and releasing Pieces Of People We Love a bombastic pop album that wore its ambition on it's sleeve with uber producers Danger Mouse and Paul Epworth expensively twiddling the knobs.Lordy knows how many millions Universal piled into the band.Cut to 5 years later and obviously music culture has moved on,key member Mattie Safer has left,your nmes and pitchforks have ate,swallowed,recurgitated a thousand hip bands.Long gone are the Echoes era days when The Rapture were the second coming,hip to the point of hurting,fashion shoots galore a "Strokes you can dance to".The reverence has vanished into memory judging by the scathing reviews of In The Grace Of Your Love,proper 2 out of 10 jobs with calls for retirement and comparisons to a christian rock band.Well i am going to cut the band a lot of slack,more then the parasitic journos with goldfish memory spans.But i cannot lie.In The Grace Of Your Love is underwhelming,the immediacy and energy of the earlier albums have gone,things are a little shall we say...deflated.Safers absence is notable.Lyrically the album is repetitive.But if you consider that vocalist Luke Jenner has lost his mother to suicide,one can only imagine the emotional distress.Plus add to the mix said major label dropping you,a member quitting,Jenner at one point leaving the band you see a rather bleak context for a bands return.In fact death is a pre occupation through the album,understandably so i suppose.On the plus side tracks such as Sail Away,Come Back To Me,the title track work well.Luke Jenners vocals are in fine fettle,i mean he actually sings not mumbles,raps,slur.I feel an ep would have been better.But come on The Rapture have given us some monster tunes,are an AMAZING live band and you know i am not gonna give up on them.They need to get back on the road,rip it up,then kick the sweaty,swarmy journos in the jacksey.

I listen to this a lot and it never gets old. The Cure meets The Strokes perhaps? A bit heady in parts, but I like that.