Band: Rainbow Face | Album: Enjoy This Ruin | Genre: Progressive rock | Year: 2024
From: Portland, USA | Label: Independent
For fans of: King Crimson, Cardiacs, late ‘70s Pink Floyd
Rainbow Face is a Portland, Oregon-based quartet that plays a brand of prog that draws from some of the heavier classic acts. National Diet is an associated band I’ve covered before, and they’re broadly similar in many regards. Enjoy This Ruin is Rainbow Face’s second full-length release, and the seven songs here have a certain auditory roughness to them that I like a lot. The mood here isn’t too cheery (shocking with an album title like this, I know), but they utilize it to make some really solid music.
“Left Behind” opens on ominous, Floydian guitar lines and a slow and thumping drum pattern. This soon shifts to an odd, carnival-like atmosphere with bouncing organ, fidgety bass and dramatic vocals. The chorus returns to that darker mood, and the song as a whole is a study in the balance between upbeat and more despondent musical ideas.
“Automation” continues with some warmth in its opening moments, but the overall feel is more ragged and punky. The vocals are speedily muttered and run through a robotic filter. Warbling synth pads burble under the chaotic foreground, and the track as a whole gives off a sense of manic desperation.
Things are a bit slower to get going on “Virus”. A synth pattern descends into disheveled bloops and squeals before some King Crimson-inspired guitar lines slide into the picture. The band’s usual less-than-cheery-outlook shines through in both the heavily distorted, minor-key instrumental passages and in their lyrics. The second half of this song sees them slow down and speed up again, once more channeling some strong punk and post-punk energy.
“My Crusade” features some new wave flavors. Considering how obvious the fingerprints of punk and post-punk are on the carefully-orchestrated chaos of many moments here, hearing new wave touches shouldn’t be too surprising. Following the relatively light opening verse, this song features swirling maelstroms of synth and guitar that surge and lurch.
The mood remains dark on “Borders”, but it’s a bit more ethereal and dreamy. The guitar alternates between haunting jangles and biting distortion, and the synths sparkle and squeak. Odd intervals provoke anxiety, and the tension the band cultivates crests powerfully.
“Ransom” rolls out with piano, tom-heavy drumming, and irregular guitar lines. Post-punk flavors are again evident, especially as the track grows more chaotic. The band veers into some pretty math rock-y territory in this song’s midsection. The herky-jerky, start-stop guitar lines are a lot of fun despite their obvious doom, and the various keyboard embellishments keep it texturally interesting. The closing moments of this song are taut and exciting, channeling the urgency of the best parts of post-punk.
Enjoy This Ruin closes on “Drown”, which has a relatively peppy opening. Things remain a bit slower and open-sounding than elsewhere on the record, allowing the music to wash over the listener. The tempo picks up more in the song’s second half, though the orchestration during the verses allows for plenty of breathing room. The chorus, though, is huge and crushing, with organ and guitar forming impenetrable walls of sound.
Rainbow Face’s sophomore record is a solid listen. The auditory quality is a bit grittier than many other prog releases, but it suits the grim nature of the music well. Things are harsh and biting with propulsive energies. I really like the post-punk influences they put into this album. It’s nothing overwhelming or even all that obvious, but it’s enough to be noticeable and add some great variation.
Score: 83/100
The Elite Extremophile 