Brooklyn postpunk revivalists the Rapture released their raw debut, Mirror, in 1999, but they didn’t really make a splash until their Sub Pop EP Out of the Races and Onto the Tracks came out in 2001. Though the gnarly noise rock that dominated the disc was nothing special, a couple songs pointed in fresh directions. Matty Safer’s walloping bass line added a body-friendly element to the weird rhythmic angles of “Modern Romance,” and drummer Vito Roccoforte’s slow disco beat on the title track, while a bit unsteady, demonstrated a willingness to reach out to a broader audience. A year later, a far sturdier 4/4 would help the group hit pay dirt. “House of Jealous Lovers,” a 12-inch single on upstart New York label DFA Records, runs a white-hot dance groove beneath the band’s usual skronk and guitarist-vocalist Luke Jenner’s go-for-broke yelp; it sounds like Gang of Four remixed by Larry Levan. Produced by ex-U.N.K.L.E. member Tim Goldsworthy and indie engineer James Murphy (aka the DFA) and featuring a cooled-down dub remix by Morgan Geist (of minimal house duo Metro Area) on its flip side, “Jealous Lovers” became 2002’s most surprising and ubiquitous dance hit, turning up everywhere from Playgroup’s DJ Kicks mix CD to Felix da Housecat’s club sets. The Rapture switched gears for the follow-up single, “Olio,” which sounds like a great lost Cure song. Early reports have it that the band’s forthcoming album hews closer to “Olio” than “House of Jealous Lovers,” but live they tend to mix it up, and toss in more discordant earlier material as well. Monday, May 5, 9 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark; 773-549-0203.
