New Music | Bleeding Rainbow - Waking Dream

[B]leeding Rainbow (formerly Reading Rainbow) are one of those bands you can’t really write about without namedropping a bunch of other bands, so I’m just going to go ahead & get it all out of the way. Sonic Youth, Nirvana, My Bloody Valentine, Yo La Tengo, etc, & then the ’60s bands that influenced the psychedelia of the early/mid ’90s. Alright, now we’re on the same page. Their bio says it’s like the Mamas & the Papas backed by early Smashing Pumpkins, &, while I don’t love to just regurgitate that type of stuff, it’s a really good descriptor. But what it leaves out is the positive vibes. It’s almost like Dave Grohl playing drums in a shoegaze band that likes to occasionally rock the hell out. The feedback is laced with hope.

The band’s forthcoming record (out on Jan 29 via Kanine Records) has been preceded by three 7″ singles, & they’re catchy, fuzzy & drenched in reverb (fighting the urge to invoke “dreams” or “’90s”). The latest is Waking Dream (doh!), which is just a solid groove. This is my favorite tempo for a song… it almost drags a little, but you’ve got that double-time shaker in the chorus… it almost sounds like it’s either twice as fast or half as fast as it really is. I dunno, maybe I’m going down a rabbit hole. The b-side, See Thru, is a little easier to describe. It starts out sounding a little bit lo-fi next to Waking Dream, but then this shimmery arpeggio comes in during the verse that’s just silky smooth. And then the overdrive kicks in at the chorus & it’s a Foo-worthy anthem.

I LOVE that bands are finally doing the “’90s thing” well, & without sounding dated. These guys are one of my favorite new acts. If you’ve got the notion, you can pre-order their new record on vinyl for just $13+shipping (crazy cheap!) or get the 7″ for $6+shipping at Kanine (they also offer cds & mp3s).