The Rainfall Years is a group from Denmark. I remembered their name vaguely, probably because they released their debut album on World Serpent, way back in 1996. After a long break due to personal circumstances the group is back. We can only cheer for that, because the melancholic pop music of The Rainfall Years is of a high level. The band is in the original line-up, with guitarist/singer Lars Skaanning, keyboardplayer/singer Jesper Kruse and drummer Soren Buchert. They are enforced by bass player Kaspar Boye Larsen.
Both bandname and albumtitle give you probably the right feeling of how the music sounds like. It’s raining melancholy and emotions. The sound is a bit hazy, moody and ethereal, not to cheerful or extreme. On “Disautumn” quite tranquil and moody compositions can be found, with a lot of ear for details. The music is not rough or raw, but subtle and sophisticated, almost polished. There seem to be various influences, from pop to wave but also some ambient, shoegaze or post-rock. Spacious electric and acoustic guitars, deep bass, spheric synths, varying drums & percussion and fragile vocals build a rich sound palette. Though the songs are quite mellow and aurally pleasing, they are not too simple. At times The Rainfall Tears sound nostalgic, making you think of 80’s names like And Also the Trees, The Church, Eyeless in Gaza, Serenes, Cure, 4AD.
You won’t find really new musical imsights on ‘Disautumn”. Just timeless dreamy popsongs, making you drown in (sombre) emotions. Listening to it for an hour is really too long, but apart from that I certainly appreciate this album.
Distribution: VME (in Germany: Grau.cd).
