Review of The Rain Band's CD "Easy Rider"

The Rain Band: Easy Rider

Bog standard songs with max production trickery equals radio possibility and no reason to be interested. The Rain Band are on Temptation Records for this synth packed "we're from Manchester so fuck off" romp. They've got the management, they've got the press, and their career profile looks right. Their casually eclectic musical scope goes for breadth rather than depth, which makes them slightly less marketable than the Music. (read that however you want) Make a list of strictly 90s influences as long as your arm. They sound like all of them, and none of them. They're playing the Cockpit, with the Steve Lamaq job creation scheme on March 25th and it's only five quid in.

There wlll be a big swell of fandom and media interest. There's even a nascent "Street Team" threatening to erupt. The Manchester mafia (Charlatans and beyond) are behind the putsch, so it will progress into the national consciousness. Musically though, there's nothing more than patchwork quilt making going on. Not a problem, because the bass and big noises swirl, the string keyboards announce "soulful", the beats say "dance and do drugs" and the voice jabs you in the ear like that annoying kid on the bus. It'll do until something better comes along.

• www.therainband.com

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