Raine: “Is This All” – They articulate overarching purpose and meaning

Thoughtful, in control, mature. These sentiments are eminent both lyrically and musically on Raine’s latest studio single, and accompanying video “Is This All”. This was created by experienced musicians – The guitars are omnipresent, keeping the ambitious song anchored while complementing Christina Raine’s voice in a subtle call and response fashion. Christina, meanwhile – oh, the voice. Her vocals have a gritty power with a raw edge that is palpable, just waiting for the right moments to release.

If every group had the opportunity to make a song that represented itself in its most confident, comfortable and sincere state, this would be it. Raine, is made up of Christina Raine (Vocals, Guitar), Rodney Wallin (Bass), Michael Rone (Percussion), Dom Val (Keyboard), Matt Darsey (Viola), Martin Garlitos (Guitar), and Ron Brown (Drums).

Raine’s vision of collective aspiration and individual empowerment permeates this single. Christina’s soul-stirring voice soars and dips majestically on an eagle’s wing. It’s a troubled heart with tenacious muscles. Time after time, Darsey’s Viola, stirring and soulful, nail the song’s heart.

The acoustic and electric guitars emerge like a pair of spectral angels, while Brown’s sinuously thumping drums keep the whole thing together. The band’s a glorious monster, yet there’s more, much more. There’s the rolling basslines, the steady percussion and the clean organ keys.

Raine’s collective and individual talents have no doubt absorbed thickets of influences. Now, they reach out to pull you up into their blended sound which cleverly hides the sheer toil of inspired performance dedication they have sweated on the road.

They articulate overarching purpose and meaning more clearly than most. So does this sound like feel-good PR talk? Listen closely to the band, and after you’ve felt the music, judge for yourself. The road-tested communal feeling Raine have, feeds into the band’s songs, which seems clearly crystallized on “Is This All”.

There’s no pretense or posing, they simply get on with the job of making music. It’s more about substance than fluff. The band’s synergy resonates from their rapturous choruses, right down into the groundswell roar of their verses, with a sense self-empowerment.

The result is a confident-sounding record that never tries too hard and focuses on deep grooves with soulful lead vocals. “Is This All” is a single that gets everything right from the first note to the last and it’s a welcome recording from a band that deserves all the good things that will come its way in the wake of this release.