An artist that is willing to create unique music must be willing to adapt and take his music wherever it calls. The sounds in your head demand to be released to the widest audience possible. Our recent find Drainbows is hard at work showing off his latest creation to the world.
Originally created in Oklahoma City, the band blends electronic instrumentation with a variety of psychedelic sounds to build a complete sonic experience for the listener. Influences are claimed from a mixture of Peter Gabriel, Bauhaus, and Neu.
After a debut at the Norman Music Fest in 2014, the road called and Mickey, the brainchild behind Drainbows, relocated the project to Louisiana and released a self-recorded solo record. Looking for an even more musically experimental music scene, the project was moved to Austin, Texas. Performances at SXSW followed in 2017 and 2018. The West Coast also called and Drainbows toured down the Pacific coast building a strong presence and army of fans. Currently, Drainbows is settled in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The latest album by the band 14 Virgins continues the psychedelic experimentation of Drainbows. The opener “Darkling” sets the tone with an array of abstract rhythms freeing the listener’s mind to explore the experience. The dark vocal delivery takes the mood even further. The 9-minute long “Scoldstone” is another full journey that uses samples and other exotic sounds to warp the mind as it slowly dominates your brain.
On the other side is the minute and a half “Take It Easier” with its minimalistic take on heavy reverbed vocals punctuated with synth hits that keep the tone dark. There is no formula that Drainbows forces his music to remain within. Drainbows is musical freedom.
The record ends with probably the most modern music friendly track “Desert Lilly”. The building beats keep the pace up while sounds and vocals creep in and out of the mix. Your heart will pump with this one as you find your head bopping along. As the song builds it gets even more experimental sounding. This is an album that demands a full listen to fully appreciate the experience that is provided.
