Dirty Rainbow

It's hard to properly place bands like Dirty Rainbow, who come on with a crisp, classic(though not classic) rock sound that leaps, soars or glides depending on how much PCP is soaked into each song. So for now, based on only a brief demo, we'll simply place them under GOOD - Timeout NY

With one of the more musically ambiguous and mind envisioning disturbing names out there, Dirty Rainbow prove that like a book and its cover, a band and its appellation can't always be judged hand in hand.
As part of a sludgy wave of bands (Runner..., Lake Trout, Bad Wizard) who are bringing the 70's kicking and screaming into the new millennium while making its sound cooler than it ever was back then, they wade in the muddy waters of a blues breaking tradition that is new and fresh all at once.
- jenyk.com

At home I searched my music library but didn’t find something that satisfied my needs. So I checked the web for new drugs and found a pot full of methadone at the end of a dirty rainbow.

That was an hour ago. Meanwhile it turned out that it wasn’t methadone... this sound is pure heroin! Wherever the early 2000 "THE" bands lost there talents - this band found them and made them their own. Damn good!
- YOU GOT CONFUSION

Rock 'n' roll is supposed to be fun, and it doesn't hurt if it's bad fun, either – the kind of fun that you know you should avoid but just can't. It's supposed to be played by people who look and sound like they're having more fun than you are. That's how it works – part of being a rock fan is getting off on the vicarious thrill provided by the life the performers seem to be living.

The Faces knew all this, which is why they sang about sweaty girls, damp hotels, and having a real good time, spilling it all out with a boozy chuckle and a wink. They were the best at externalizing the hedonistic lifestyle, showing you how much fun was to be had on the path to hell.

New York's Dirty Rainbow don't have much to do with the Faces musically – they tend more to the bluesy, garage-rock sound we've seen a fair bit of these past few years. What they get from the Faces is content (there's enough decadence here to fill a pharmacy) and spirit – they come across as unpretentious, likeable, real people who happen to be having a shitload of fun making boisterous music. Now, I've never met anyone in this band, nor have I seen them live. All I have to go on are my hunches formed by this impressive debut, one of the most polished DIY releases I've ever seen or heard.

Death. I Was Sure of It. is a self-released, self-produced album, recorded and mixed by Mitch Rackin, Dirty Rainbow's bassist, and featuring cover art by Jeremy Schoenherr-Lachance (a stage name, to be sure), one of two singer/guitarists (Sterling DeWeese is the other). The fact that the band members have talents other than playing rock music is instantly endearing, particularly in an overcrowded field of garage would-bes who are all style and no substance. Sure, a pair of shaggy-haired, denim-clad axemen front Dirty Rainbow, but they also have a nice-looking young lady on the drums (Rashmi Viswanathan) and a bespectacled bald dude to boot (Rackin). They're a good-vibe band, firmly entrenched on your side of the velvet rope.

Shit, their songs are pretty good, too! "Roll It Over" is a spooky, heavy space-out, sort of like Dead Meadow as covered by the Gris Gris. Like the latter, Dirty Rainbow boast a rock solid, versatile rhythm section that keeps things just tethered enough, which is good – it's a fine line between chaotic and sloppy. The stuttering drums and surf guitar of "RSA," meanwhile, show that the band has a few tricks up its sleeve beyond the standard genre-approved sounds and styles.

"Six in the Morning," the attention-grabbing opener, is a frantic, tumbling mess, one-upping all those closing time pick-up numbers with a truly rock 'n' roll concept – it's six in the morning and they're still fucked up. A high, whining guitar lead neatly doubles the perfectly desperate vocals: "Just gettin' your number, girl / That ain't enough."

The song showcases Dirty Rainbow's forte, the ability to be grotty and sexy at the same time, spun out at six in the morning and still making self-assured advances. Death. I Was Sure of It. is half funhouse, half freakshow, a lively little party album about being down, out, and hopelessly wasted. And, like the most spirited rock 'n' roll, it's bad fun at its best.
- MEDIUM HEAT

Dirty Rainbow has a sixties sound to it that is only matched by current bands like Temper Temper; the influences are all checked and worthy (there is more than a minor hint of The Doors during “Tied Up”), while the act has the interesting ability to create a meandering track with a focused goal. This supposed paradox is not so; the controlled chaos of many acts is a suitable comparison to what greets listeners during “Death I Was Sure Of It”. While the compositions on the disc may seem too pensive for listeners’ tastes, the fact is that what Dirty Rainbow does is an act.

The band is in reality confident of their compositions, and this does not verge into arrogance because the songs really are that impressive. The music that hits listeners during “Death I Was Sure of It” is exactly of the same caliber as the stuff currently being played on classic rock radio. While there is a heavily psychedelic sound to tracks on the disc, there are similarities between Dirty Rainbow’s music and that of the more experimental Pink Floyd. Songs are repetitive only to the point that they drive the point home; Dirty Rainbow has more than enough tricks in their bag to ensure repeat listening. The style of music that Dirty Rainbow plays does not have much in common with what is currently being released on rock radio, but Dirty Rainbow plays their style of music so well that individuals will like the band all the same. All tracks on “Death I Was Sure of It” contain a dedication to a free spirit that is not often heard in current music.

The tracks use a different mix of influences for each go around; Dirty Rainbow is strongest because of the fact that they do not allow the influences to dictate the track. Rather, the bands that influence Dirty Rainbow are quite like seasonings to Dirty Rainbow’s meat. While most bands need a connection to more current music to succeed in the current music market, Dirty Rainbow is talented enough to pull listeners kicking and screaming back to the sixties/seventies framework in which they work. Here’s to hoping that the band can continue with their distinct and fun retro stylings, and gain a little more notoriety for themselves in the years to follow. Without much to hold them back, Dirty Rainbow can only succeed from here on out.

Top Tracks: Hey, RSA - NEUFUTUR

Playing it loose, loud, and full of attitude, the guys in Dirty Rainbow churn out rock that sounds something like a cross between The Stooges and Fu Manchu. By combining elements of early punk with 1990s stoner rock, these guys manage to write and record rock music that is brimming over the edges with focused enthusiasm. The band consists of Sterling DeWeese (vocals, guitar), Mitch Rackin (bass), Jeremy Schoenherr-Lachance (vocals, guitar), and Rashmi Viswanathan (drums). Death. I Was Sure Of It is instantly effective and infectious. Cool cuts include "Six in the Morning," "Sweet Jesus Why," "F is for Fake," and "Mama Said." Good stuff. (Rating: 5+)

(rating scale 0(shitty) - 6(goddamn!!)) - babysue