House of Jealous Lovers

Handily surpassing anything the Rapture released prior, "House of Jealous Lovers" is the band's most furious, controlled, danceable song yet. Retaining the usual guitar mangle and jerky post-punk drive, the scratch-and-scream battering is bolstered significantly by the DFA (James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy), a production squad who helps add vroom to what would've merely been a screech minus their help. (Primal Scream's rumbling, chugging "Blood Money," which also featured the DFA's handiwork, is an apt comparison.) Morgan Geist's dub/disco version adjusts the arrangement, wipes off the cat-strangle vocals, hones in on the beefy bassline, and adds complementary keyboard vamps, handclaps, and horn blurts from James Duncan. The result isn't too far from a cross between Dinosaur L's "Go Bang" and Public Image Ltd.'s "Careering." "Silent Morning," the B-side, is a spacy, oddball number with lots of jingling and moaning. ~ Andy Kellman