The question many people have been asking in the run up to The Raptures' debut full length is, can they live up to the hype? The answer, quite simply, is no. After all, what band could? The attention and adoration the New York based 4 piece "funk punk" ensemble garnered from the music press (merely based on a handful of material) was enough to make Christ turning water to wine, or Moses parting the Red Sea, seem decidedly underrated. But that's not to say that they haven't produced a good, maybe great record. Because they have.

Echoes kicks off in rather subdued fashion, which is surprising considering all the claims that this band would make even the most ardent of indie kids dance like nobody's watching. 'Olio', which originally appears in a much shorter and somewhat skeletal form on the bands debut 'Mirror', is a completely different monster here, coming on like a brooding old school house track with haunting keyboards and a pulsating bassline (help from electronic super producers DFA has clearly paid off). Guitarist/vocalist Luke Jenner sings--or rather howls--over the top like the demented lovechild of Little Richard and The Cure's Robert Smith. After a few listens it crawls under your skin and has you casually tapping your toes, but it's hardly the explosion that you're expecting; that is left for the following song. 'Heaven' begins with Jenner singing the refrain '1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 I'm floating in a constant heaven' and then suddenly bursts into a delightful cocktail of scratchy guitars, bass, and spasm-like drums. It's how the Gang Of Four would have sounded if they hung out in New York dance clubs, and if it doesn't have you flailing around the room without thinking about it, then you're probably thinking about it: "Maybe The Rapture are worthy of the hype after all?" Those thoughts are quickly diminished, however, when track three kicks in. 'Open Up Your Heart' is a tiring attempt at a ballad and, with an underwhelming arrangement of drums, piano and jazz infected bass, it has about as much life as a morgue and just sounds out of place among the high octane dance rock that The Rapture usually produce.

Elsewhere the record manages to make up for it's one letdown. Undeniable highlight 'House Of Jealous Lovers' is still as glorious as it was a year or so ago when it got all those journalists and hipsters foaming at the mouth. With its start/stop guitar riff and ascending bassline it's irresistible, and you WILL dance no matter who may witness the occasion. Other high points include 'Sister Saviour'--which puts use to infectious guitar stabs and an 80's synth pop bass line to make you shake your ass and (maybe due to it's Duran Duran influence) head in equal measure--and the genuinely pretty 'Love Is All', which recalls the Rolling Stones if they were doe-eyed puppies on Ecstasy. Album closer 'Infatuation' succeeds where 'Open Up Your Heart' didn't; it's a touching ballad which with its droning vocals, subtle guitar work and lines with Morrisey style delivery, like "take me down, infatuation", it feels like the downer to an exhilarating dance party.

Unsurprisingly Echoes doesn't quite live up to the expectations, but still it's one of the best major label releases of the year, and easily worth your attention. Oh, and it's all sorts of fun.

-Ian Lappin