RAINCHILD

LIKE WENDY's second album continues where the debut left off with that similar style and sound. Bert Heinen who sings and plays guitar and keyboards is also credited with playing a distorted watermelon ?! After the list of thankyous we have this quote. "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways". Psalm 91:11. And under that we have these words. "This album is dedicated to the memory of my father". Two important quotes that have a lot to do with the lyrics here. And as I read the lyrics it really seems like this is about his feelings as he deals with his dad's death. Lots of mentions of angels and singing about memories. Water in some form or another is refered to a lot. More about these thoughts in my conclusion.

"Hymn" opens with the sound of water being splashed about then keyboards and reserved vocals take over. GENESIS-like pulasting organ follows as guitar joins in. Nice. Water sounds end it. "Drowned" opens with organ and a beat. Reserved vocals and keyboards join in as well. Love the guitar after 4 minutes and the rest of the way. I really like this melancholic track. "Colours Of Summer" features more melancholia with laid back vocals, acoustic guitar, bass, drums and sad synths. Some great sounding guitar 4 minutes in where it starts to pick up. Gulp. "Spaces Of The Deep" is piano,synths and fragile vocals. It picks up with drums and guitar before 2 minutes. Synths lead 3 minutes in. Lots of atmosphere after 4 1/2 minutes.Vocals after 5 minutes. "I Will Find" is a short instrumental. "Underwater Voyager" features piano and synths early on. It kicks in after 1 1/2 minutes with drums and guitar. Nice. It settles and vocals arrive.

"1011" is another short instrumental. "Shadow Of The Sun" is another melancholic tune lyrically and sometimes instrumentally. A stanza from "Colours Of Summer" is repeated at the end of this song. "Skybound" opens with the sound of crickets and acoustic guitars. Reserved vocals join in. A sad song lyrically. It turns spacey to end it with spoken word samples. "Four Years" has a beautiful, pastoral intro as vocals join in. Drums and a fuller sound follow. "Wings In The Fog" opens with acoustic guitar and bass as mellow vocals join in. This might be the most meaningful track when it comes to the lyrics. It explains a lot and is touching as well. "The River" sounds so good early on as the vocals join in. Nice guitar after 2 minutes.Vocals are back after 4 1/2 minutes. The last 1 1/2 minutes of instrumental music is gorgeous. Water sounds end it.

I wish I like the music here more because I think the lyrics are brilliant and very meaningful.The water seems to represent that place of intense sorrow. At one point the angel tells him he almost drowned as he tried to comfort him. In another place he sings "The river in my headlights goes on and on".Yes he's the Rainchild as he mourns his dad's passing. So while I like the music on the next two albums more there's something very special and meaningful here that cannot be ignored. Especially considering that I lost my dad so many years ago. It really does speak to me on an emotional level.