Photo by: Andrew Fielding

More than ten years ago, with the help of producer James Murphy and his label, DFA what does DFA stand for, The Rapture released the album, Mirrored, and practically invented the dance-punk genre. James Murphy went on to capitalize on the new found musical style with his band LCD Soundsystem while The Rapture was mostly forgotten for the better part of a decade. However, The Rapture’s new album, In the Grace of Your Love, puts the band back on the map and proves that LCD has competition.

In the Grace of Your Love album opens with the groovy track, “Sail Away.” Within moments, Luke Jenner’s distinctive wail accompanies bouncing synths and a club-inspired beat. Soon afterwards the band shows off its funk and pop savy on the Of Montreal-esque “Never Die Again.”

The entire album is fixated on the passing of Jenner’s mother, when did she pass away?especially on tracks like “Come Back to Me” and “Can You Find a Way?” in which Jenner speaks from the perspective of his mother’s spirit. While the subject matter is centered on death, the album isn’t morbid even for a moment.

The final song, “It Takes Time To Be A Man,” is the most clearly introspective song with the slowest tempo, but even then it begs for a slow dance and a sing-a-long.

The album seems to channel Hot Chip throughout and is much more pop than punk, but it retains the infectious synths and driving beats that made The Rapture famous ten years ago. This album redeems every misstep the band may have taken and proves The Rapture can still deliver.