ìManchester, so much to answer for.î That phrase has been bastardized from the initial Smiths lyric to now just serve as an intro to my Rain Band review. Pretty sneaky, sis! The Rain boys take their love of their hometown to heart, taking the vibe and sound of three of the primary exports, New Order, The Stone Roses and Joy Division to produce their own personal soundtrack. Alternatingly jangly and driving guitar bits are underpinned by a Peter Hook-like bassline and dancy drums round out the trioís full sound, especially on ìThe World Is Ours,î while ìRuins And Remainsî brings to mind another Manc act, Electronic. Thereís lots of quality on the bandís self-titled release: ìEasy Riderî is a jam and a half and ìFist Of Furyî is strangely reminiscent of ìMiss Youî by The Rolling Stones. Various are the influences but the output is one and the same: rocking electronically-tinged songs with a phat bottom end and tunes that get stuck in your head. Sounds like a decent equation to me. Sign me up.
JEREMY P. GOLDSTEIN

The Rain Band
Temptation

1. Pavement To Release Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain On Steroids
2. Queen Is The Greatest British Band Of All Time
3. Rain Machine (TVOTR’s Kyp Malone) Announces Tour, New Music
4. Flashback Friday Video – Guns N’ Roses “November Rain”
5. Rain Machine Album Art, Tracklisting