Rayner
In Circles
Self-Released (2016)
Sounds Like: The Ataris, The Lawrence Arms, Youth Brigade
Score: 9/10
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to be more critical with my reviews, because I realized that looking back now, I’d probably give some albums lower scores than I originally did. So the fact that I decided to give In Circles a 9/10 means that I genuinely think this album is really, really great. I’ve been waiting for Rayner’s first full album release for over a year now, and was worried it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. After all, I was so in love with their 2014 EP, Where Do I Begin?, that I played it every morning for weeks straight. Thankfully, as soon as I started listening to In Circles, I knew that it surpassed their already excellent EP.
It’s rare for me to come across an album on which I love literally every single song, but In Circles starts out strong with the pop punk banger “Dreameater” (is it possible for pop punk songs to be bangers? Whatever…the point is, it’s a rad song) and carries that energy through the rest of the album.
Don’t misinterpret that as me labeling In Circles as a wild party album, though. While Rayner is very obviously influenced by 90s pop punk bands, even in their first full-length release they display an air of maturity. And that should come as no surprise considering that Rayner is made up of members of other Las Vegas bands, like one of my favorites, Hard Pipe Hitters. The songs on In Circles are fun and poppy, but the lyrics reveal underlying depth. Take the seventh track, “Stairset,” which is the band members’ self-aware criticism of themselves. The chorus “I’ve got no reason and rhyme / and these words are a jumbled mess / I keep on falling out of time / I’m at my worst when I’m at my best” eloquently reflects the self-doubt that can plague every band.
The album also includes reworked versions of all three Where Do I Begin? songs: “Title Cards,” “Reflections,” and “Very Dreadfully Nervous.” My penchant for the EP resulted in it taking a few plays for me to get used to the new versions—humans are creatures of habit, and I am no exception—but the fact that Rayner took already awesome songs and thought, “How can we make these better?” shows that not only is the band not afraid to take chances, but also that they’re truly making an effort to improve.
Rayner’s experience, passion, and talent are only heightened by their outstanding choice of producer, John Brown. Brown engineered, mixed, and mastered In Circles beautifully. The audio quality of an album can be just as important as its musical quality. Most people, upon realizing that a recording is subpar, will stop listening before the first 30 seconds are up.
If you missed Rayner’s album release show on January 9th, or just can’t get enough 90s pop punk nostalgia, I’m excited to say that you can catch them on the Punk Rock Bowling mainstage in May.
-Julien Boulton
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