Artists / rainwater

Rainwater
In-Between

Catalog Numbers: FH-073 / FH:VI-037 / HD0004
Release Date: August 13, 2021
Genre: Indie Pop / Folk Rock / Post-Easy-Listening
Radio Friendly: Yes
Type: Album
Purchase: Bandcamp
Links: Spotify

pressing information

Digital: Worldwide

Vinyl: Furhoof: Sixth Man & the Home Dome

• 1st Press (2021): 100
  ”Swamp Water” transparent blue 12” vinyl with full-color matte jacket, full-color labels, and greyscale 8.5” x 11” insert (two-sided) on cardstock featuring lyrics and a diagram of photo memories as remembered by Blake. Hand-numbered.

Cassette Tape: Furious Hooves & the Home Dome

• 1st Press (2021): 23
  Turquoise cassette with full-color A-side paper label, full-color 4-Panel J-Card (two-sided) on cardstock with miniature lyrics booklet and photo memories diagram, in plastic Norelco case. Hand-crafted and home-dubbed. Hand-numbered.

Release Biography

‘In-Between’ is the new album by Seattle’s indie pop act Rainwater, led by Blake Luley. It was recorded in his guest bedroom during a stressful couple years through graduate school and his first year as a teacher in the unholy year of 2020. In little pockets of time between school, a new job, and preparing to have his first child, he laid down bass lines, synth parts, and wrote songs. Even with this pieced together approach, ‘In-Between’ is a fully realized exploration of grief, mental illness, and love. 

Throughout ‘In-Between’, Luley’s introspective songwriting is accented by dreamy guitars, driving basslines, shimmering synths, glimmering lap steel, and rollicking drum machines. Despite most of the songs being about grief and mental illness, this is Rainwater’s sunniest, most upbeat album to date. Lead singles, “Glorianne” and “Us Only”, are New Order-meets-Fleetwood Mac with pulsing drums and catchy hooks. “Glorianne” is a series of questions to Blake’s late grandmother about what happens after life. While, “Us Only” tackles insomnia and commitment. Later, “Clean Air” is an ode to anti-anxiety medication in the time of climate change and channels the sunny goth of The Cure paired with the ramshackle pop of Arthur Russell. 

Throughout, Luley is playing the instruments, only accompanied with luscious harmonies by his wife Aviva Stampfer, cousin Amy Godwin, and friend Stephen Steen. Despite the home recorded effort, this is Rainwater’s sharpest songwriting and fullest production to date. Who knew working through the hardest experiences of your life could sound so fun? ‘In-Between’ is out August 13th 2021 digitally worldwide, as well as on limited edition vinyl and cassette via Furious Hooves and The Home Dome. 

Press & Accolades

• “Us Only” from ‘In-Between’ LP listed as #98 of SMALL ALBUMS’ 100 Best Tracks of 2021.

• “Clean Air” from ‘In-Between’ LP was included in BIRP!’s September 2021 Playlist.

• “VRY SML INTRVW” with SMALL ALBUMS.

“With its weightless synths and near-whispered vocals, the track evokes the shimmering dread of sleepless nights, emerging raw and tenderised and in search of some reprieve. The atmosphere will be familiar to anyone who’s had even the briefest of skirmishes with insomnia. The hyper-vivid textures of sleep deprivation, a kind of emotional knife-edge where everything is cast in its most extreme light. The state finds Luley turn inward, collapsing the world down into its smallest, most bearable form. Taking consolation from the love close at hand.”
– Various Small Flames, premiere of “Us Only” from 'In-Between’ LP.

“There’s a white, porcelain owl statue on the shelf behind your dad’s recliner, and it folded its wings while everyone was sleeping.”
– SMALL ALBUMS, album review of 'In-Between’ LP.

“A string of diamonds being pulled behind a wooden car like soup cans after a wedding.”
– SMALL ALBUMS, review of “Us Only” from 'In-Between’ LP.

“Right when you get to town everyone wants you to sit and talk but you just need to close your eyes for a minute.”
– SMALL ALBUMS, review of “Glorianne” from 'In-Between’ LP.

Product Shots

Audio/Video