Music Review // Cedarsmoke "Under The Rainbow"

 

While we might be used to music taking us somewhere over the rainbow, on their new album Cedarsmoke takes us "Under The Rainbow".   This is a somewhat psychedelic rock ride with music parts that can sometimes overpower the lyrics.   The first song- "Don't Fear the Repear" (not a BOC cover)- just seems to be about different ways in which we can die.   It suggests that since you are likely worrying about a specific way to die, but there are so many others which you haven't even thought of yet, the presence of death is just everywhere and we need to let go of that fear.

This takes us into the song "Kicking Drugs" which can remind me of The Get Up Kids meets Foster The People.  There is a line that people should be quoting that says: "Just because there's a crowd doesn't mean it's good" and the chorus states: "We were only kicking drugs cause we forgot the pills".   There is some space synth in here, which also has that synth start swirling and this second song is when we begin to see Cedarsmoke start to embrace that musical horizon and even though the lyrics are there to quote the music is still much more of the song.

An acoustic melody reminds me of Soul Asylum on "Picasso Blue", which eventually gets pianos in it.   "Shut Your Eyes and See" has those Elliott Smith melodies and then the music begins to drift, as it did on the second song.  Drum machines and bass bring in the winding guitars on "Madame Psychosis" while "Going Under" has big and fun percussion.  The titular track says: "Somewhere under the rainbow / That's where I'd like to be tonight" while "Something Over Nothing" begins to make me think of Oasis but also Walk The Moon.

As we get into the end, "Be Here Now" has these quieter, slower pianos but a little bit of electric static as well.  There is a long bridge and both this song and "Water", the last song, remind me of something that might be done by David Bowie or The Polyphonic Spree / Flaming Lips.  This album just feels like we're starting out grounded, but by the end it has taken us to float into space, leaving no trace of the Earth behind.  This is transcendance.