For a band that counts My Bloody Valentine, Ride, The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, and The UK Charlatans, amongst those it has influenced; its almost shocking that Rain Parade isn’t slightly below R.E.M. in the music nerd vernacular. This Los Angeles band had two albums in the ’80s that have stood ahead of their time in the world of mirroring the past and present.
The past in 1983 was the psychedelic era and the present was emotionally draped jangly indie rock grown from the work of The Modern Lovers and Big Star. The scene That Rain Parade helped lead was then called The Paisley Underground and while that has come and gone, the then vital sounds still sound poignant today where artists like Lemon Twigs and Sunflower Bean have rewritten the script.
Rain Parade has returned with more pop glory via their new album, Last Rays Of A Dying Sun. The record is at once eminently engaging and delightfully ornate. Indeed, Last Rays Of A Dying Sun manages to sound both like a lost classic and the groundbreaking work of an unknown new artist, emerging from their secret lair with a record ready to change the world.
Matt Piucci and Steven Roback have been writing songs together since 1981, and are co-founders, along with David Roback, of Rain Parade. Their debut album, Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, released by Enigma Records in the US and Demon Records in the UK in 1983, is internationally recognized as a masterpiece.
The follow-up EP, Explosions In The Glass Palace (Enigma US; Demon UK 1984) was recorded after David Roback left the band; it garnered the same high praise, and its reputation has been increasing ever since. Sid Griffin, author and leader of The Long Ryders has said: “We were in the Paisley Underground with Rain Parade back in the 1980s… Explosions In The Glass Palace is and will forever be the BEST recording from a Paisley Underground band, be it us, The Dream Syndicate, The Bangles, The Three O’Clock or whomever.”
Written primarily in the East Bay, the songs on Last Rays Of A Dying Sun are the result of an artist letting the muse take the wheel. “They don’t usually ask first, they come when they come, like babies” says Piucci. “On the freeway, on a plane, in the backyard staring out into space, or sometimes when we are together, they emerge from the ether.” While neither preachers nor politicians, Piucci and Roback innately tap into the collective unconscious. The songs on the new record, while each standing on their own, paint a vivid picture of a society on the cusp of radical change when taken together.
The record was tracked at 25th Street Studios in Oakland, CA (owned by David Lichtenstein, son of pop art artist Roy Lichtenstein) and at producer Jim Hill’s studio in Los Angeles. “Jim is basically in the band” tells Piucci. “We don’t do anything without him.” In addition to Piucci and Roback, Last Rays Of A Dying Sun features long-time Rain Parade guitarist John Thoman, guitarist Derek See (the Gentle Cycle / Chocolate Watch Band / Dean & Britta), drummer and percussionist Stephan Junca (The Hellenes, boatclub), and vocalists Debbi and Vicki Peterson (The Bangles). Last Rays Of A Dying Sun will be the first release on Denver-based Flatiron Recordings, on their imprint Label 51. Flatiron Recordings is a new record company founded by Enigma Records co-founder Bill Hein, San Francisco and Boulder music vet and entrepreneur Andy Zicklin, and veteran music industry lawyer turned entrepreneur Fred Goldring.
Glide is premiering in full Last Rays of A Dying Sun, a soaring psych-pop statement that should endearingly make many a best-of-2023 list in a proper musical world.
As a band, we feel that creating a sound that is unique is essential. And we think that we have done that here” says Piucci. “As for how others respond to it, we feel that art is a deeply personal experience for the “end user”, if you will. We tend towards the impressionistic rather than expressionistic. In the end, we try to bring inspiration, comfort and or joy to our listeners… or at least a sense that they aren’t alone.”
