Rachel's

The Rachel's consists of a main trio: Rachel Grimes on piano, the late Rodan's Jason Noble on bass and organ, and Christian Frederickson playing violin. In addition, each of their album features various horn players, percussionists, and other musicians playing what eventually makes up a small orchestra. Orchestral is one of the best ways to describe this band. At the heart, there is absolutely a post-punk approach to the songwriting and cadence, although the intricate composure of the songs, chord and time changes as well as the sheer diversity in the instrumentation makes the album more like a orchestra rather than a punk band. Selenography is one of their best albums, but I will post the first album I heard of theirs.



The Sea & The Bells (1996)
I first listened to the Rachel's, particularly this album, one day as I was falling asleep, trying to take a nap after school. The melodies were enchanting. I suspect this may have been a concept album, the songs too powerfully create an atmosphere of an open ocean to go unnoticed. You feel the ebb and flow of the currents, the high and low tides, and the crushing of the surf. As I was drifting off to sleep, I suddenly awoke truly frightened by the ghostly and haunting melodies of some of the later songs. It isn't often that an album has the power not only to create such positive but also harrowing emotions in the listener. Truly a great album. Check out their other albums, you won't be disappointed!