A decade into their career, Manchester quartet
the Courteeners bring a little levity with their fifth LP,
Mapping the Rendezvous. Combining sonic touchstones from throughout their catalog -- angular post-punk, neo-Brit-pop, and polished new wave -- they produced one of their strongest works, as addictive as anything on
Anna and
Concrete Love. Like contemporaries
Kaiser Chiefs and
Two Door Cinema Club, they've evolved from their indie rock early days, favoring melody and pop-leaning numbers that inspire more dancing than rocking out.
Rendezvous is a lot of fun, especially on bouncy ditties like "Tip Toes," "The Dilettante," "Not for Tomorrow," "No One Will Ever Replace Us," and the
Phoenix-lite "Modern Love." Highlights include the devilishly cool "Lucifer's Dreams," one of a handful of urgent dance-rock songs that recall the aforementioned
Kaisers, and the sexy "Kitchen," a throwback that sounds like
Robert Palmer fronting
INXS (or simply a muscular version of
the 1975).
Falcon fans will appreciate slower moments like the
Morrissey-esque "De la Salle" and "Most Important," a touching ode that combines the tribal drums of
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" with
the Courteeners' own "Lullaby." A nod to their Brit-pop influences is found on the grand "Finest Hour," a slow-building track that ends with a fanfare worthy of
Blur's "The Universal."
Mapping the Rendezvous might not appease those fans still waiting for the return of
St. Jude, but eight years after their debut,
the Courteeners have grown up and streamlined their sound, resulting in a tight, energetic blast of dance-rock. ~ Neil Z. Yeung