Rainbow Road's 'WANT' is a Beam of Light in these Dark Times (Copy)
Photo by Jordan yerman Words by Maddy CrisTALL
Rainbow Road is an incomparable explosion of sound that swallows the listener whole. The synth-driven pop rock band combines emotive songwriting with complex musicality. The rare blend of lyrical vulnerability combined with musical bravery is intoxicating. The part Vancouver part LA based band just released their debut record ‘WANT’ which is nothing shy of extraordinary. Each of the nine songs are simultaneously instant classics while exploring unknown territory. The album is infinitely replayable immaculate pop music. It is emotionally generous yet dairy-free which can only be executed from honest songwriting.
This is perhaps the backbone of Rainbow Road - sincerity. Frontman Lane Small wears his bleeding heart on his sleeve. Small is deeply connected to the lyrics he belts out straight from his soul. His voice bends and breathes like the lithe beast that it is. Rainbow Road’s genuine demeanour is particularly evident during the band’s mesmerizing live performances which involve a noteworthy light show and a dizzying realness of each band member. Lane’s eyes are closed while his volcanic voice erupts through the room, while keyboardist and backup singer Danni Ammon penetrates each note into sonic oblivion. Guitarist Johnny Gillich provides the rock and roll edge the otherwise perfectly pop songs are hungry for. Small says that “Johnny is the reason we pass as a rock and roll band, I fundamentally lack rock and roll instincts.” That glaring self-awareness is perhaps part of what makes them who they are. It is clear that so many pre-mediated ideas went into the tapestry of their music and it is executed flawlessly.
The completely self-produced ‘WANT’ is not a concept album, however, it pertains to a common lyrical thread. There is nothing disjointed about the record, each song gracefully spills into the next. Small explains that the lyrics are about gratitude, poetically veiled of course. “You know how Buddhism strives to free us of wanting? I've always had mixed feelings about that. I mean, yes, it's super important to feel and show gratitude for the life that we're blessed with. But that burning that you feel in your stomach when you're in close pursuit of some goal or ideal, it's such a human sensation. I wouldn't want to miss it.”
Small’s and Ammon’s voices intersect impossibly well, in the vein of early Broken Social Scene. Their harmonies elevate each track to the avalanche of sound they were born to be. The album takes you on a journey through the electro-punk of LCD Soundsystem, with the emotional weight of Arcade Fire and the pop sensibilities of St Vincent.
Like many bands during the COVID-19 virus, their plans got derailed. They had lots of irons in the fire to coincide with the release of this record. Instead of drowning in the sea of obstacles we are all currently facing- they decided to release ‘WANT’ regardless. The album deserves to be truly engulfed in countless settings such as driving through the desert, dancing with reckless abandon, making love and ultimately looking deep inside of yourself to understand what's in there. The last option is the card we have been handed, so we may as well play it- over and over and over.
The single off the album, Warrior, could easily be the song of the summer. Especially this summer which will likely encompass that natural dystopian and post-apocalyptic feeling that is only heightened with the right music. This music is the right music- it isn’t easy or lazy but so resoundingly complex and passionate. An album like ‘WANT’ doesn’t come around very often. This is a turn off your phone, put the blinds and let the world wash away kind of records.
‘WANT’ was released on March 27, 2020 and is available wherever you get your music.