Family Rain - Under the Volcano

by Harry Sherriff

published: 6 / 3 / 2014

Label: Virgin
Format: CD

Epic-sounding yet minimal blues rock on fine debut album from Bath-based sibling trio, the Family Rain

Review

The three brothers from Bath caught industry attention over a year ago with their tidy blues-tinged rock number ‘Trust Me… I’m a Genius’, and their much anticipated debut ‘Under the Volcano’ clarifies that the Family Rain aren’t a band that will fade away after a few festival slots. There are barely a weak four bars on the concise 10-track LP, and, although you can be forgiven for feeling some tracks blend into one another on the first play, that quickly subsides after inevitable subsequent spins. The singles were so strong off ‘Under the Volcano’ my worry was the rest of the album just wouldn’t be able to hold up. Often new bands are plucked by a label just off a couple of tracks, and the pressure is on to tour constantly as well as write that all important debut album at the same time. This clearly wasn’t an issue for the Family Rain because this album feels effortless, just three brothers having fun in a studio for a couple of weeks. The first seven tracks are all highlights, and I challenge anyone to listen to ‘Carnival’, ‘Trust Me’, ‘Feel Better’, ‘Don’t Waste Your Time’ and ‘Reason to Die’ and not feel converted. ‘Carnival’ is simple strong pop rock music with a killer bassline and playful backing vocals. ‘Trust Me’ is arguably the best track on the album, and the only negative is 2 minutes 13, seconds. It doesn’t last longer. The Family Rain, unlike a lot of other up-and-coming bands, really know how long a song should be. Even for a long awaited debut there’s no self-indulgence. If anything the composition and production feels refreshingly minimal. With support slots with Miles Kane, Jagg Bugg and their own headline UK tour under their belt, 2014 is going to be a very busy one for the lads from Bath. With not a totally dissimilar sound to heavyweights the Black Keys you can see a mission to crack the states in the not too distant future. Let’s just hope they take their time with that second album, and develop that epic blues-rock sound that’s made them one of the most promising bands around.

Track Listing:-

1 Carnival
2 Trust Me... I'm a Genius
3 Feel Better (FRANK)
4 Don't Waste Your Time
5 Reason To Die
6 Binocular
7 On My Back
8 Pushing It
9 Together
10 All the Best
11 White Marble Soup
12 Alexander
13 Friction
14 Enjoy the Silence
15 Feel Better (FRANK) [Live At the iT
16 The Family Rain in Berli

Band Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/thefamilyrain
http://www.thefamilyrain.com/
https://twitter.com/thefamilyrain
https://instagram.com/thefamilyrain/
https://soundcloud.com/thefamilyrain