Raining Jane - The Good Match

Raining Jane - The Good Match
2011, Raining Jane

Los Angeles rockers Raining Jane has turned being Indie into an art form.  From 2004 to 2009 the band played better than 120 shows per year.  They've been regular tour partners with Sara Bareilles over the past ten years, and have been writing songs and performing with Jason Mraz since 2007.  Aside from their solo work, Raining Jane has played on a number of albums for other artists; most recently on Willy Porter's wonderful How To Rob A Bank.  Raining Jane has earned song placements on Grey's Anatomy and So You Think You Can Dance, and continues to dance right on the edge of national consciousness.  All that may change in 2011 with the release of Raining Jane's latest album, The Good Match. 

Raining Jane opens with the mid-tempo rock n roll love song "The Good Match".  The edgy, almost urgent feel of this song makes for a compelling introduction if you're not familiar with Raining Jane.  Either way, it's a great tune, and a great way to kick off the album.  "Oh Song" features an intriguing melody that wends its way through your consciousness.  There's a deep pop sensibility here in an off-the beaten path number that sounds like a cross between the Go-Go's and Wilson Phillips with a bit of Lisa Loeb thrown in.  "Storming" is a blue pop ballad that almost wants to be country; the cello adds an unusual dimension here that's appealing.  Chaska Potter's voice is absolutely gorgeous here.

"Wish You Were Here" is a haunting love song written to one who is far away.  The mix of longing, remembrance and hope evokes subtle layers of beauty as the emotions mix and roil in gentle waves.  "A World That's Made For Me And You" is a bright and airy, yet low-key pop song about the perfect place and the perfect love.  Raining Jane's vocal harmonies are absolutely enchanting here.  The ladies of Raining Jane side step into country-tinged folk pop with "Enough", featuring a slow-arching chorus that's unforgettable and vocal harmonies that can only be described as angelic. 

Raining Jane goes for gold with "Paper Cut", a silly little love song that gets stuck in your head and refuses to go away.  This low-key acoustic pop number will take you by surprise and stay with you for a long, long time.  "From Me To You" has many of the same qualities, although the theme is a bit more complex.  Once again, however, getting the song out of your head will take some effort.  Raining Jane's cover of Pat Benetar’s "Love Is A Battlefield" is tortured and dark; beautiful and tragic all at once.  Benetar sang it as an anthem, whereas Raining Jane presents the song as a dark, needful entreaty that slowly grows in confidence but never loses the sense of heartbreak.  Running Jane closes on a somber, hopeful note with the lyric beauty of "New Year", combining voices in a plaintive wish for goodness to become.  This quiet moment of reflection and hope for the future carries a plaintive beauty that leaves a distinct impression; you'll find yourself drawn back for more.

Raining Jane shows a distinctive ability to write gorgeous, substantive pop songs in folk/rock arrangements that make an impression.  The voices here are first class, and Raining Jane's chemistry as a band finds all the pieces fitting together as if they were never otherwise.  The Good Match is an inspiring listen; the sort that makes lifelong fans out of novices.  Don't miss this album.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about Raining Jane at www.rainingjane.com or www.facebook.com/rainingjane.  The Good Match is available on CD through Raining Jane’s web store.

The McClymonts - Wrapped Up Good

The McClymonts - Wrapped Up Good
2011, BSM Music

Brooke, Samantha and Mollie McClymont are three of the hottest names in country music, but don't worry if they're not on your radar just yet.  The McClymonts are the #1 country group in their native Australia.  The McClymonts celebrated 2010 with the release of Wrapped Up Good at home.  The album debuted at #1 on the Australian Country Music charts and #2 on the pop charts (behind Susan Boyle); producing four consecutive #1 singles.  The resulting tour sold out all over Australia, and the McClymonts became the first group to ever host the Australian Country Music Awards.  Turn the page to 2011, and The McClymonts have set their sights on America.  With their single "Wrapped Up Good" already storming the US Country charts, The McClymonts will celebrate the US release of the album Wrapped Up Good on August 23, 2011.

If you take three sisters with angelic voices, back them up with a first-class country music band, and provide rock and roll songs dressed up in country instrumentation and you have a sure-fire hit.  That's the formula that's fueled The McClymonts thus far.  Wrapped Up Good opens with "Kick It Up", a rambunctious rockin' country party tune.  The harmonies are fantastic, and the song is as catchy as anything you've heard on country radio in a long time.  "Wrapped Up Good" is radio-ready pop/country that celebrates one particular love.  The Wilson Phillips-style harmonies blends with a Dixie Chicks-on-steroids spunk to create a band persona and sound that's larger than life.

"He Used To Love Me" is either a determinedly optimistic love song or a stalker's anthem.  The tune feels fun rather than creepy, and the melody will stick in your mind.  "Boy Who Cried Love" is a generic pop tune with country instrumentation.  It won't stand out on its own, but Brooke McClymont's voice certainly does.  "Take It Back" is a brilliantly counterintuitive response to a relationship that's ending.  The song heavily borrows themes from Sting's "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying", but is well written and entertaining.    "Rock The Boat" is an entertaining tune of incipient rebellion, a catchy non-conformist rock anthem dressed in a barely-country arrangement to make it convincing.  It's a great number, and the vocals are over the top. 

"I'm Not Done With You Just Yet" finds The McClymonts heading to the honky-tonk with a number that's certain to have pulling on your dancing shoes.  As usual, the vocals are primo, but the backing band will make a believer out of you here as well.  The McClymonts run into a slow patch as they head for the close on Wrapped Up Good, but recover nicely with the honky-tonk closer "Cannonball".  This might as well be the three sisters' theme song; a tale about a gal who's just too much to hold on to or hold down.

Wrapped Up Good is the sort of pop/rock album that would have been a huge hit in the 1980's.  The fact that it's presented essentially as a country album is ingenious marketing of a talented trio who perform at a very high level, mixing high polish with a down-home flavor that connects with country music fans.  The McClymonts are destined to have their stars shine as bright in the US as they have Down Under.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

Learn more about The McClymonts at www.themcclymonts.net or www.facebook.com/themcclymontsau.  Wrapped Up Good gets its US release on August 23, 2011.  You can pre-order the album from Amazon.com as a CD or Download.