Rapid Fiction

Rapid Fiction have created a 3 track CD of edgy, dark, electronic-new-wave-indie-with-keyboards. The 'Under The Pulse' EP is essentially built up of strong and steady syncopated drum beats, sharp and piercing guitar, and the kind of vocals Brandon Flowers wanted to achieve after he'd first heard a Joy Division record. In essence, Rapid Fiction have taken everything they've loved about the bands they've listened to themselves, and tried to subtly fuse them together, with successful results…Give it time; Rapid Fiction are the kind of band who, by this time next year, could be dominating your CD collection and demanding your complete idolisation. Rating: 7/10 - Heathen Angel

While the icicles fall off the windows and the bottom drops out of the wallet, the last thing you need after a cold Christmas is yet another band proclaiming their love of all things Le Bon et Flowers, right? WRONG.
London based four piece Rapid Fiction may have the right influences (CHECK) and the right sound (CHECK) but there you have it...and so do they!
Y'see, in these times of wishy washy eighties pilfered rehashed quagmires of aural junkfood, Rapid Fiction shine through like a beacon in the most smog cascaded blizzard.

And little wonder too when the beautifully discordant charm of 'Discourse' - all 'Speak And Spell' era Depeche Mode synths colliding with a bassline straight out of the Dengler book of D'chord polished off by the most Ferry-esque vocal since well....Bryan Ferry last gave a fuck about anything really.

Likewise the introspective 'Narcostar', which caresses Bowie's third decade-nt metamorphis and throws a new light over the phrase "new romantic".
Quite simply, the whole thing reeks of a sublimity most residents of suburban Britannia haven't witnessed since ooh...Live Aid. 4/5
- Drowned in Sound

Intense, dark, electronic and Gothic. East London’s Rapid Fiction successfully merge the Birthday Party 80s atmospheric dirges with modern electronic rock akin to the likes of The Faint. The result is a similar edginess we encountered when first sampling Interpol. Yet Interpol now sound pompous and pretentious, Rapid Fiction have a buzz and fervour and the ability to swagger out of the doom to instil urgency and passion and an unabashed nature to preserve it. Leave them all behind is the rock track of the trio, frayed, charged guitar with swirling electronics yet is tempered with a sophisticated, elegant, almost Chameleon vocal, a vocal that does indeed bring us back to the broody days of The Comsat Angels and the aforementioned colour changing lizards. Phone is a repetitive, driving mantra that engulfs and en-trances. Yet it is in the final track Sheet Music that Rapid Fiction escape the shackles of their influences and produce a sound of their own. Introspective, atmospheric, a smoke filled silhouette that simmers just below boiling point, a tune Interpol would currently kill for. - Damn Pest

Rapid Fiction is a seductively dark velvety affair, gothic swirling keyboards, early Joy Division guitars and David Byrne style vocals. The Narcostar demo has two tracks that sound like the Talking Heads man fronting early Cure, it is dark, black and dripping in eyeliner beneath a big coat. Under The Pulse is their latest demo, three tracks of dark electronic rock that builds on its predecessor. Yeah it is very 80s sounding but they do it very well and yeah you can hear many other bands in it but they end up sounding like Rapid Fiction rather than some nostalgia trip. Lots of nice little things happening like the little eastern swirl of synth in Phone while Sheet Music is pure dark cabaret and brings to mind Dream City Film Club. Bewitching pair of demos that bode well for the future. - Vanity Project

Edgy, really edgy, almost fractured dark electronic new wave rock, it sounds like early Roxy, actually he sounds like Bryan Ferry and they sound like PIL, focused and wired and in danger of falling off that edge they are walking on, twisted dimensions and fighting apathy, guitar driven dark electronic music, like a Franz from the underworld, Fire Engine, The Cure. Perfectly named as well, rapid fiction indeed. From London, they are watching when it all collides. Refreshingly unsettling. - Organart

At a glance, Rapid Fiction look like the Bravery, with their military style jackets and quiffed hair. But the sound is anguished and fraught and more akin to Joy Division. The music seems designed to make you uncomfortable; the relentless thudding guitars forcing you to maintain a heightened state of alert, probably leading to a nervous twitch if exposed too long.

Towering lead singer Carl Thompson looks troubled and angry as he yanks the microphone and practically rips the words from his mouth. He's like the abandoned Frankenstein's monster (albeit much better looking), misunderstood by the crowd who drift off in search of happier things.

This isn't to say Rapid Fiction are bad - far from it. The growling guitars overlayed with keyboard melodies are pulsating and infectious. They know how to tightly command a riff with a military precision that's reflected in their outfits. Packed with emotion they may be, but the vocals are raw and harsh.

This is a talented five-piece but there is also the sense of too many people vying for the limelight. The vocal duets between Thompson and bassist, Nick Mann, are rich and deep - a vast improvement on the solos - but look like a takeover bid. And like so many bands, Rapid Fiction need to learn to stop all playing at once and experiment with the relentless format a little more.

The intensity of the set demands a lot from the audience and is difficult to embrace, yet Rapid Fiction have the precision and poise of an accomplished act. Everything from their wardrobe co-ordination to the polished instrumentals smacks of experienced performers, but as this evening demonstrates, headlining isn't everything. - http://www.the-mag.me.uk

Si comincia con The Problem Being, gruppo che esordisce a dicembre con il loro primo EP. Tentano di suonare una sorta di electro-dark ma ciò che ne esce sono delle canzoncine piuttosto adolescenziali ed inutili. Si passa poi ai Rapid Fiction che innalzano sicuramente il livello della serata, soprattutto grazie alle armonie melodiche del tastierista ed all'indubitabile forza scenica ed appeal del cantante che sul finale si è addirittura lanciato nel pubblico per terminare (e coronare) la performance. E' poi il turno dei Greenhaus che ci propongono del trip hop, certo non a livelli eccelsi, se le parti strumentali raggiungono anche dei momenti interessanti la linea vocale resta scontata e non decolla mai, come non decollano neanche gli interventi della cantante tra una canzone e l'altra. Sono ad ogni modo un momento piuttosto piacevole se non si hanno grosse pretese. Tocca, infine, poi alle Ping Pong *****es che come le Hole vengono considerate un gruppo di sole donne anche se in realtà un membro maschile c'è! Non hanno niente a che vedere con le Hole, fortunatamente o no, e per me avrebbero pure potuto fare a meno di suonare (onestamente, ndR). - http://www.ondalternativa.it/