The Angelus have been stirring hearts and unhinging jaws all over Texas for more than half a decade with a brand of honest-to-God flat out glorious electrified folk music that is as difficult to pin down as it is to forget. Led by the enigmatic vocal powerhouse Emil Rapstine, whose brooding tones and mesmerizing stage presence bring to mind any number of iconic front men from Morrissey to Nick Cave, and backed by four young men who quietly summon up epic sounds that build like storm systems and burst into bone rattling sonic downpours, The Angelus often leave even the hardest hearted hipsters teary eyed and shaken.
In late 2000, Rapstine joined forces with drummer Justin Evans and set out giving voice to the sprawling, widescreen epics that had been kicking around his head. Largely acoustic in the beginning, the sound of the Angelus has grown massive with the addition of James Barker on Bass Guitar, Jay Allen on electric piano, and, most recently, Casey Clark on electric guitar. The band released a self-titled EP on Pyramid-Scheme in late 2004 to national acclaim and, having recently relocated to Dallas from their beloved Denton, TX, all five are currently living together in a quasi-commune known far and wide as the Chateau Angelus. Neighbors complain of late night chanting and the ringing of distant bells. Word on the street is those boys are busily summoning up a full-length album from the ether.
New song up! One to dance to with someone you love, or with the stranger you just picked up on a rainy street, or with your image in the mirror. Or whatever. Enjoy. Any comment welcome.
