Brooklyn-based experimental musician L’Rain and her new album fata morgana, available now via Mexican Summer, cannot be pigeonholed. If genres were mountains, this project is a river flowing through rainy forests and valleys. Is that why the sound of fata morgana pairs with the scent of petrichor to me?
Hear me out. Something about this album creates a dewy overcast day in the mind, somewhere in the mountains. Wet darkened rocks, overwhelming dense green vegetation all over, barely there mist building on your hair. Echoes and reverb creating the feeling of an open expanse.
‘with time‘ has a texture similar to ‘Chrysalis’ by Dianna Lopez— warm, grainy, shadowy. Its descending bass synth phrases played by Ben Chapoteau-Katz and singer Taja Creek‘s syrupy long glissandos are enchanting and sedating. If we are staying forest minded about this, ‘with time’ is Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
‘july 5th’ is the sun peeking through the clouds on a day that was forecasted to have none. The birds start to dance for each other and the flowers seem quenched and ready to expand. A bright surprise, like veteran dancehall artist Screechy Dan near the end.
Also, there’s a sweet glittery sound in there that I think Dan Deacon would appreciate, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Just when we thought the day was becoming a sunny one, ‘soulless cycle’ brings an unexpected torrential downpour. Timothy Angulo’s drumming on this is big, fast, thrashing, and absolutely shocking if you haven’t braced yourself. High pitched, crying guitar and distant shrieks pierce through while the bass rumbles low like thunder. It’s the perfect post punk storm.
Later on is ‘glass ceiling‘ and, if we’re still in the woods, this would be sunset as you stumble upon a clearing. The first minute made me think of Paracosm by Washed Out. The synth work on this one is smooth, advanced, and intentional.
I’m thinking about the ways in which this societal malaise manifests within myself,” Cheek says. “As we’ve slipped further into fascism and trad culture, I’m thinking about all the beliefs society has manufactured about itself and about me.”
TAJA CHEEK OF L’RAIN ON fata morgana
Cheek’s true journey on this album is one of communing with self within a free falling society and wondering, “how do you grow in a world not meant for you to thrive in?”
In my ears, the album created a forest in the mountains. A place where soundscapes bloom and propagate new ones within themselves. No matter the perspective, fata morgana is in a biosphere of its own. Explore it here.
L’RAIN TOUR DATES
September 14 – Kingston, NY – Tubby’s
September 15 – Montreal, QC – La Sala Rossa
September 16 – Toronto, ON – The Garrison
September 17 – Detroit, MI – TSDMAAC (Crypt)
September 18 – Chicago, IL – Constellation
September 22 – Pittsburgh, PA – The Andy Warhol Museum
September 23 – Washington, DC – DC9
September 24 – Philadelphia, PA – Mandell Theater
September 28 – New York, NY – Night Club 101
September 29 – New York, NY – Night Club 101
October 10 – Krakow, Poland – Unsound Festival
October 14 – London, UK – ICA
November 17 – Asheville, NC – AyurPrana Listening Room
November 19 – Nashville, TN – The Blue Room at Third Man
November 20 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5
November 21 – Durham, NC – Cat’s Cradle: Back Room
December 2 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop
December 4 – Portland, OR – Jack London Revue
December 5 – Seattle, WA – Baba Yaga
December 8 – Los Angeles, CA – 2220 Arts
Find L’Rain on bandcamp | youtube | instagram