Posted: April 13th, 2009
Contributed By: Nick
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Purchase @ iTunes Release Date: March 31st, 2009 via Sounds+Sights |
| Rains is: Jeff Rains (Vocals / Guitar) Jason Anderson (Guitar) Zach Ruetz (Guitar) Joe Pitter (Bass) Joe Schultz (Drums) |
Overview: Jeff Rains was just a small town guy (sic), LIVIN’ IN A…. Luckily, I’m not 26 beers deep at 1:55 A.M. so I won’t continue with that mess. However Jeff Rains has no reason to stop believin’ in his musical journey, a trend that has continued since Rains’ first release in February 2006. The album was called, ironically enough, ‘Stories‘, and it didn’t just roll down the boulevard toward big sales-it hauled arse. In fact Jeff Rains and his crew single handedly moved over 10,000 units of ‘Stories‘, not bad for a humble bro from Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Rains decided to bounce from his Indiana turf and head north of the border to Toronto where he joined forces with producer Trevor Kustiak (Evans Blue, In My Coma) and began etching a new record. The duo hammered out new tunes and did some housekeeping on the old ones, resulting in a revamped and renewed ‘Stories‘ for 2009.
The Good: The twelve songs that comprise ‘Stories‘ are like twelve pairs of Jeff Rains’ shoes in which he has graciously allowed you to walk around, experiencing his reality first hand. The first kick you lace up is the slinky and assertive “Look In My Eyes”. At one turn a salve and the next a Dear John Letter, “Look In My Eyes” is bold, asking just as many questions as it answers. Jeffrey gets on bended knee and exhorts for a second chance at love on “So Easily”. Although “So Easily” is quite plaintive, Rains is able to find the strength to forget his former flame and also forgive himself, providing solace to a clearly shattered heart. The moody, flexible shuffle “Liar” showcases multi-faceted narration, as verse one, verse two, and every chorus occupy third person, second person, and first person angles respectively. “Five Minutes” is a heavyhearted slag that burns with a disturbingly addictive hook and perfectly synced musical and lyrical dynamics. Rains scoffs at an ex-vixen on the gritty and impellent “Pressure”, deploying bits of acrimony that are impressively concise and level-headed. The bittersweet perils of a good relationship swallowed up by its most sour times are the bullet points of “Hate”, which is chockfull of complementary guitar texturing. “Right or Wrong” is very Staind-ish and very memorable, bolstered by the faint taps of hand percussion and a bridge awash with the heavenly sounds of an orchestra. Breezy and colorful, “Fake” sports the album’s most stellar line which reads, “It feels like I am waiting like an inmate/Hoping for my someday”; how sick is that shit? “Wait” is super dazzling and whimsical. The track is galvanized by a string section perfectly flush with the acoustic guitar strumming, adding a bevy of rich warmth. At 2:42 into “Wait”, a Flamenco guitar shines through, yet another exquisite facet to this genius cut. The book on ‘Stories‘ closes with the lofty, luminous spectacle “Something New”, as Jeff “The Wise One” Rains sends you off with some slyly delivered advice to nibble on.
‘Stories‘ has two fables that stand out from the pack in “American Dream (The Story of David)” and “Hurricane”. The former is an eye-opening first-hand account of a homeless man gone astray. However the greatest part of the tune’s poignant storyline is how the impoverished fellow refuses to envy those who pass him by as he pleads for a buck, realizing that although he has little to call his own he is still on the same journey as everyone else-trying to capture that “American dream”; I give kudos to Rains for stripping away the blinders often caused by the egocentricity of the chase. “American Dream (The Story of David)” is outdone by “Hurricane”, which, simply put, is nothing short of flawless.
The Bad: The silkiness of “Hate” is marred by its abrasive “I f–king hate you” hook, fouling an otherwise tidy nest because of its cheesiness. Although the reoccurring militant-like pattern of “Something New” has good intentions, it comes off as a rigid hiccup that continually hinders the flow of an otherwise smooth song. As a collective unit, the ‘Stories‘ dozen are a little too cohesive, which restrains the impact of its strongest jaunts. Take away those three demerits and Rains is sitting on a 10 out of 10 album.
Bottomline: Rains delivers with ‘Stories‘, offering a twelve pack of songs that’s way, way more like a goodie bag to a 6 year old than another album to a jaded music critic. I urge you to listen to ‘Stories‘ and hope the ever-growing buzz surrounding Rains explodes someday soon. Above all, Jeff Rains’ music is real. And in a music world plagued by an epidemic of superficial computer generated trash, you can’t place a price on an album like ‘Stories‘ consummated by blood, sweat and tears rather than bud, sluts, and beers.
TuneLab Rating: 9 out of 10
On the one hand, I agree with your bottom line sentiments about real rock replacing sleaze rock, but this album was not that interesting to me. It felt like just another band similar to Evans Blue and BB from the little I heard.
I liked most of the songs on this album, but I didn’t love them. “Look In My Eyes” is my favorite of the disc. I would have given the album an 8/10 myself, but I can’t fault someone for liking the album more than I do.
Well, I like that he gets his words across with having to scream them. Not that I have a problem with metal/metalcore, but his approach to singing is noticeably different from some of rock’s current elite.
hey pen [ we do know each other i changed my profile name for this post ]
” It felt like just another band similar to Evans Blue and BB from the little I heard.”
how you can possibly hear evans blue and/or breaking benjamin is a testament to what a lot of us [ fellow bloggers ] think in regards to your musical ears — YOU DON’T HAVE ANY
there is a growing collective that laugh at you , not with you, you always seem to be johnny on the spot with every new review just to disagree and bash, kinda like that self absorbed kid that still lives in his parents basement.
anyway i know how stubborn and self righteous you are , i drew the short straw so to speak with this growing collective, therefore was tasked to let you know how we feel about you lack of musical insight – its actually shocking how off you hear most things… something for you to think about as we all roll our eyes at 90 % of your comments, oh yeah i am only the first to speak out against you — more to come
Hey Scott_Matthews (you don’t know me, but I have your IP address, email address, and any other details you change or hide), take a look at the terms of use, specifically sections 11 and 14. Personal attacks or threats are not necessary and not welcome against any member.
Sounds like you’re bringing some other disagreement from another site and letting it spill out here. Not gonna let it happen. Pen, just like any other reader/commenter, has people that agree with his opinion or musical ear, and he has people that disagree, sometimes strongly. Just like not everybody thinks you (and your fellow bloggers) are the authority on who has good taste in music or doesn’t.
For your future comments and others regarding anybody you disagree with, allow me to suggest something like this: “[person's name], I strongly disagree with your opinion, and I feel many others strongly disagree as well.”
My suggestion for anybody that doesn’t like somebody else’s comments: don’t read them, or read them and ignore them. If the community can’t learn to respect that other people don’t think the same as them, and continually attack someone’s opinion and then attacks them personally, that person will be less likely to leave their opinion or thoughts, then people just stop commenting altogether. This is a community, and will remain a place where anyone can voice any opinion without fear or reprisal from any other persons or groups of people.
I haven’t listened to this CD yet… Jeff had told me he’d send along a review copy about a year ago but then I guess the recording and release and stuff got delayed. (I actually almost auditioned for bass with them when they were still in Charlottesville, VA). I had high hopes for them, my only real complaint with the first one was that there were about half as many unique vocal melodies as there were songs.
Do I really have some kind of insane music cult that’s out to get me? That’s pretty awesome that I”ve instilled that kind of anger and terror in the populace. I didn’t even say anything that mean about the band even. It’s amazing how many people you can piss off just by saying things in a reasonable and respectable manner.
Pen, you must feel very special knowing a “group of bloggers” spend quality time of their day reading your posts.
I know, it’s like Christmas. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted.
jay are you threatening to make my private info public ? that would be grounds for legal action
there were no threats levied against anyone or personal attacks of any sort, simply stating the truth, pen LACK MUSICAL EARS.but just to keep you happy
here is my formal response
pen, i don’t agree with your opinion, and I feel many others strongly disagree as well.”
Well I salute them. And I hope they one day find the means to destroy me, but I am immortal and will continue to haunt these internets even after my corporeal form has dissolved.
ha, great response pen, jay needs to take a chill pill
Let me say something else here too. The whole bit of musical ears is tricky. Because you know, I know quite a few people who believe they have musical ears that would think Rains sucks. And I know another group of people who would think it’s the best thing they’ve ever heard. I know people who think the best music out there is Disturbed, Shinedown, Alice In Chains, and I know people who think The Flaming Lips, The Mars Volta, Thursday, and At The Drive-In are what real music is. And they all hate each other. I have heard some really nasty things said about both sides. And you know, sometimes even people on the same side hate each other because some like metal and some like hard rock, or some like indie and some like pop-punk. It’s a bloody warzone out there.
And guess what? I mostly get along with almost all of them. So who do you think is really ahead of the game here?
if you are making an attempt at being clever , then you failed pen
the people ahead of the game are the artists that don’t give a damn about what either you or i think !
Scott,
If you read the terms of use, it specifically says we won’t make your private info public. That would be grounds for legal action. What I meant by that was that despite you changing names or disguising yourself or whatever, it wouldn’t work and we could still remove you.
Personal attack: “you always seem to be … kinda like that self absorbed kid that still lives in his parents basement” (1st and 2nd definitions)
Threat: “oh yeah i am only the first to speak out against you — more to come”(2nd definition)
Hope that addresses your concerns.
Well if you were being clever Scott, then really you failed too, because as far as I know most artists tend to get along with some exceptions like Josey Scott and Austin Winkler, or Brandon Flowers and Noel Gallagher. But mostly they tend to give each other props no matter what the genre is. You can only say that I follow their example.
well, those are weak examples per your definitions, but whatever floats your boat
and pen, you missed my point completely
Weak examples of what? They’re examples of sh*theads.
And I get your point. Your point is that I am obviously missing all the subtle nuances of Rains music because “I have non musical ears”. Look, I’ve heard it all from rockett a billion times before. I really don’t care. I don’t like the band as much as you or Nick does. Sorry. They’re not worth a 9 to me. I don’t connect with them. To me they’re not special. I’m not saying they can’t be that way to you. If they’re worth a 9 to you, awesome. I think Hurt’s album is much better. Everything else is just pettiness.
missed my point again pen, this doesn’t have as much to do with rains as it does wit almost everything you post,i do like hurt actually never said anything about them, and never said anything about rockett a , or rains actually , just saying that how you hear things is just off, i think we have gone back an forth enough time to chill pen
Yeah, I don’t care anyway really, cause what you’re saying doesn’t make any sense and personally, I don’t really care if I’m hearing things “right” anyway, I’m enjoying myself and that’s what’s important.
I’m still a little baffled why you’re choosing this particular moment to call me out though, if it has nothing to do with Rains or really anything in the vicinity of this review.
has nothing to do with rains actually purely about time you were as you say ” called out ” , now hurry up with a quick witty response
Whatever, this is messed up. I don’t even know what you’re supposed to be calling me out on. Or why it bothers you so much. I’m not trying to be witty, I’m trying to be rational.
Haha you two are quite amusing. Anyways I enjoyed the Rains album and I agree with the review. Good stuff!
I agree with Altered84. You two are very entertaining.
I DO agree with the review. I’ve been listening to it since it was released and I love it. The review is perfect.
wow…. if I ever became that personally involved in trying to destroy the reputation of someone’s online identity I think I would have to take a deep long look at myself first. or “the collective” of well versed musical critic bloggers who are rallying against one online person… now. I’ve never played the game… but perhaps all of your ring of blogging critics should go play World of Warcraft against pen if he’s up for it and the winner shall be crowned the one with the most musical taste and credit. hows that sound?
btw… isn’t this thread supposed to be about a music review? or am I on the wrong site?
Scott, it’s a shame your name is scott matthews as I have a friend by that same name, only he uses English grammar regularly and refrains from impotent passive aggression. It would serve you well to recognize that anytime you spend an extraordinary amount of energy (such as leading a blog community) against someone, you succeed only in attaching yourself to that person, not separating yourself from him/her. Your obsession says far more about you than it does pen. I’ve been a TuneLab junkie since the AA days so I’m quite familiar with pen’s posts. There are days he says things that are extraordinarily wise and days he says things that piss me off. But if I’m not mistaken, and I’m not, that’s what makes a damn good friend.
Oh, and when you make “points,” make sure you actually make them before you mock someone for not getting them.
I was thinking the same thing RaNight…how did I miss all of this before?
so this is the same cd from 2006? but redone?