Kyp Malone contributed and collaborated on some of the finest songs in
TV on the Radio's body of work when he joined the band for their debut album,
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. Likewise, he helped take
Iran's third album, Dissolver, in a very different direction than the group's earlier work. Though he's been a distinctive presence in both of those bands,
Rain Machine is his first solo project, and it's truly solo:
Malone plays nearly all of the instruments, and he pursues the sounds and themes he's explored with his other projects more intensely. This is some of the most eclectic music
Malone has been involved in -- which is saying something, since
TV on the Radio spans funk, dream pop, and driving rock, among other things, and
Iran dabbles in everything from noise to indie pop. Touches of those sounds pop up on
Rain Machine: "Give Blood"'s fuzzed-out surge, "Hold You Holy"'s spirituality and sensuality, and "Smiling Black Faces"' mix of gospel-tinged warmth and political awareness (it mentions the 2006 murder of Sean Bell by off-duty New York City policemen) could easily hold their own on a
TV on the Radio album. However, these songs are a little looser than the fare that usually appears on his other bands' releases, and
Rain Machine only gets more expansive and experimental as it unfolds. Often, the results are stunning: the acoustic excursions "Driftwood Heart" and "Winter Song" are part bluegrass and part Eastern mantra, and unlike any music he has released elsewhere. Occasionally,
Malone's freedom to do whatever he wants gets a little indulgent, as on "Love Won't Save You," a nearly eight-minute litany of people, places, and concepts that don't offer salvation. Regardless,
Rain Machine gives
Malone an appealingly mellow yet resolutely independent identity for his solo music; even if it may not be for fans of his other projects' more accessible material, it's nice to hear a full album of what he can do on his own. ~ Heather Phares