 
Over the past few years the indie scene has been
really lacking in outstanding bands especially
since Oasis called it quits, you have the likes
of the Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and not much else
battling it out but now this talented trio of
brothers from Bath called The Family Ruin are
set to released their debut album ‘Under
The Volcano’ at the start of February and
after listening to the album a couple of times
it is safe to say that The Family Rain are what
the indie music scene has been crying out for.
As mentioned above The family Rain are a trio
of brothers you have Will Walter on lead vocals
and bass, Ollie Walter on guitar and backing vocals,
and Tim Walter on drums and backing vocals. The
band formed back in 2011 and soon went out and
released their home made demo ‘Trust Me...
I’m A Genius’ which caught the attention
of a lot of people and soon saw the band signed
to Mercury Records and later moved to Universals
new label Virgin EMI Records for the release of
their debut album ‘Under The Volcano’
which was produced by Jim Abbiss who’s worked
with both Kasabian and the Arctic Monkeys in the
past.
‘Under The Volcano’ is a 10 track
album which flows for just over the 30minute mark
and it is crammed with bluesy indie rock songs
and is extremely accessible from the start but
you will get much more out of the album the more
you listen to it as more and more stands out on
each and every listen.
The album opens with ‘Carnival’ a
really fast paced indie number which is big and
bright from the start as the band really let positive
vibes flow with their upbeat instrumental work
and the lead vocals from Will Walter followed
up by the backing vocals of Ollie Walter and Tim
Walter are fantastic as they are executed in a
way like the band are talking to each other with
quick smart reply’s.
‘Trust Me... I’m A Genius’ is
a big sounding raw rock song which is pretty damn
heavy, the vocals from Will Walter are really
gruff sounding as the band really turn the heaviness
up a couple of extra notches here, and if you
have been following the band from the start you
will know that the song was original released
as a single back in 2012 and will already know
how good it sounds. Most recent single ‘Feel
Better (Frank)’ is also a solid song with
its pounding drum beats and jagged guitar riffs.
‘Don’t Waste Your Time’ shows
off a more mellow side of the band as they go
down a sleepy stoner rock style route with the
song yet it happens to be just as enjoyable as
the more upbeat songs featured on the album and
guitar work from Ollie Walters throughout the
song is fantastic especially during the solo during
the middle of the song.
‘Binocular’ is a fun upbeat track.
‘On My Back’ has a retro vibe running
through due to the stoner style backing vocals
and bouncy basslines. ‘Pushing It’
is one hell of a bouncy number where Will Walter
knocks out his basslines sounding so much like
John Paul Jones from Led Zepplin and Them Crooked
Vultures. ‘Together’ will instantly
remind you of ‘The Strokes’, and album
closer ‘all The Best’ is instrumentally
good but lyrically quite lame with lyrics of “I
will fill my lungs for one last time, and wish
you all the best”.
If you have been looking out for a new indie band
to please your ears then look no further than
the Family Rain as for a debut album ‘Under
The Volcano’ is a great album, it has a
few average moments but the majority of the album
provides a great listen and I personally can’t
wait to see how they progress a few years down
the line with album number 2.
4/5
Review by Trigger
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