Album Notes

By Nancy Dunham, Indie-Music.com

"There's something so funky yet so pure, so catchy yet so subtle, so polished and so right in the music by The Raining that it's tough to believe they haven't been with us for a long time. Yet the band's self-titled album is its debut -- and what a way to come out of the gate.

With influences that range from the Byrds ("Fool's Gold") to Phish ("Underground") to plenty of bands and their respective genres in between, it's easy to love The Raining. The trio, which notes many fans call the band's sound art rock, melds members' divergent influences into a sound that is not only original but pure.

Some musicians gripe that many newer bands sound as if the members haven't played for very long and certainly haven't studied music as an art form. Not so with this trio, each veterans of the studio. You can immediately tell that this album isn't a slap-dash assortment of egos clashing to be heard. Although songwriting duties are shared, the musicians took the time to fine tune the songs and produce them in such a way that they're smooth without becoming sugary and poignant without diving into syrup.

If this CD is any indication, this is a band that will be around a long time."

Also look for: Mend by Daniel Parker and After All by Dennis Hitchcox