In front of a packed Rock City containing more mods than Vespa convention “The Family Rain” took the stage. The atmosphere was filled with the usual intoxicating mixture of anticipation for the headline act (on this occasion, Miles Kane) and trepidation over what was about to hit their ears. But as the first fat, distorted bass note rang out through the very soul of the venue, any fears over the quality of what they were about to witness were dispelled.
The Bath based band are quick to cite their influences as the likes of AC/DC and Dr Dre (among others) and having been produced by Jim Abbiss (the man behind an array of top acts such as Kasabian, Swedish House Mafia, Bombay Bicycle Club and Placebo) and, whether it be through their image or Bluesy come fuzz embodied rock n’ roll style of music, these influences certainly shone through. The music had the desired effect of getting people’s toes tapping and the occasional body moving but that was about all The Family Rain offered throughout their relatively polished if not slightly rigid performance.
The packed venue and the energy exuded by the songs that were being banged out lended themselves to a more raucous display from the band but they sadly failed to deliver on that front. Stand-out songs on the night included “Pushing it” and “Reason to die;” both decent tunes but both could have easily been plucked straight out of Kasabian’s back catalogue.
To that end, The Family Rain are nothing new but you get the feeling innovation is not the name of the game here. If you’re looking for a new, easily accessible Rock band to get behind, The Family Rain could well be up your street. If originality is what you seek, look elsewhere.
By George Purkiss
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