I was most excited  when I heard about this new album, as I’d been such a fan of the bands first album Remmings which appeared back in 2006. Their first album offered up a wonderful collection of tracks that focused around piano driven composition, that mixed in carefully placed & often subtle guitar, bass, viola and programming elements. 

This new album sees the project mainly striping away the bass & guitar elements, and adding an in array of keyboard based elements taking in of course piano, organ, Wurlitzer, and  synths. Added to this we have voila, glockenspiel, percussion, harmonic pipe, Theremin, and guitar/ bass- but these only really appear towards the end of the record. It’s fair to say “The Black Rain” is a lot more bleak, sombre & gloomy in it’s feel compared to their début release. The album offers up ten tracks which last between just under the eleven minute mark to just under the two minute mark. Most of the tracks here are based around a sombre & completive mix of piano, viola, and sad samples that take in warbling voices, distorted like sound effects & radio muffled voices. Or drifting ‘n’ felt organ  or synth texturally expanse or emotional dwells. The more typical & rising post rock guitar, rock drums & bass are only added on in the second to last track, and these make for an effective release/ crescendo after the rest of the album.

“The Black Rain” is certainty a deeply emotional  & often sad record, but there is a few rays of hope here & there too. So if you enjoy felt & dramatic  instrumental music that takes in elements of emotional piano composition, moving ambience, and the very subtle traces of more traditional post rock this is well worth a look.