DFA Records Compilation #1 (2003) Well, it's about time. "Echoes," the debut LP by the funkiest of New York's new-rock triumvirate (with the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), is… The Rapture Indie Rock
EW's GRADE
B+

Details Release Date: Oct 21, 2003; Lead Performance: The Rapture; Genre: Indie Rock

Well, it's about time. ''Echoes,'' the debut LP by the funkiest of New York's new-rock triumvirate (with the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs), is old news to some, since it's been circulating for more than a year while the band worked out a record deal with producers James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, a.k.a. DFA. But it still sounds fresher and more diverse than previous releases or live shows would've suggested, a mix of top-shelf dance-club rock (''Olio''), shaggy Cure impersonations (''Heaven''), and charmingly gloomy ballads (''Open Up Your Heart''). ''Compilation #1'' is DFA's aesthetic argument, a singles collection with the smoking 12'' mix of the Rapture's ''House of Jealous Lovers'' and other adventures in scratchy grooves and '80s-style drum-machine programming. DAMN KIDS LCD Soundsystem's ''Losing My Edge'' (from ''Compilation #1'') is a hilarious must-hear for the self-loathing music geek in your life.

Originally posted Oct 17, 2003 Published in issue #733 Oct 17, 2003 Order article reprints