Band: Rainy Day Collapse
Album: Three Song Demo
Best Element: Potential to become a great band.
Genre: Emo-rock
Website: www.rainydaycollapse.com
Label: N/a
Band E-mail: deliriumtrigger21@hotmail.com
Rainy Day Collapse sounds like one of those unfortunate bands in which the members are still learning the finer points of making music. In later years, the members will confess to new friends about how bad the band was but how much fun it was. There will be a mixture of longing and relief in their voices as they retell stories of ill fated recordings, poorly received shows, and the bonds that were made during such times. I know this because that’s the story of just about every musician I talk to. So let me explain the premise of Rainy Day Collapse to give a proper description and in turn, a fair review.
There are certain clubs around my native Rochester, NY in which young local bands can play their first shows. These bands usually get lumped together on the bills, receive no money from the club owners, and beg their friends to come out and watch them fumble through a set of originals and perhaps the occasional cover (“Dammit” by Blink-182 was always popular when I was doing this, I believe bands have now graduated to “The Day I Die” by Story of the Year). If you watch closely, you’ll notice that each band is pretty much the same. There is the drummer who is either exceptional or terrible, but will overplay no matter which category he or she may fall into. There is the bass player who plays his bass like a guitar and usually looks bashful and reserved on stage. Next there is the second guitarist who is often the most fashionable and charismatic of the young group. This person is the rock star and may even try out a few cool stage moves like getting a big stance in front of the audience or jumping during the pogo part of the song. Lastly, there is the unfortunate lead singer. He or she (let’s be fair) has the heavy chore of trying to make the vocals sound credible. Often young boys in these bands have not yet developed enough control over their ever changing vocal chords and try trouble singing in key.
Upon listening to Rainy Day Collapse’s three song demo, I knew that this band was exactly what I just described. The rhythm section is off and the drums speed up and slow down. In certain points, the drummer tries to play complicated parts but cannot pull them off, sounding amateur. The guitar work has good intention but often the player tries to go out of skill range and ends up sounding sloppy and ill-conceived. But what really sinks the demo in the end is the poor vocal performance and lyrical content. The lead singer’s vocal lines are monotone and lack a solid rhythm. Furthermore, he often sings out of key and out of rhythm. As far as the lyrics go, it sounds that the lyrist has listened to far too much Dashboard Confessional and The Early November and is trying to convey feelings of anguish and grief through very trite, pseudo-poetic lyrics. What ends up happening is that the band comes across sounding like a joke. But there is hope.
This band is obviously young and has much time to hone their skills and work on writing good, well crafted songs. I hear a yearning to follow in the Promise Ring’s poppy, dork-friendly emo-rock footsteps that have been missing from the American underground for some time. If Rainy Day Collapse keeps on using the keyboards and plays within their own limits as a band, they should become a great band.
-VicA
jsonmusic@hotmail.com