Rain Machine, Kyp Malone’s solo project, seems to operate under the umbrella of two different styles: the multi-instrumental sound strewn across the opening of the album and the soulful-crooner-over-guitar tone that ends Malone’s brainchild.
The first part of Rain Machine is reminiscent of the singer’s claim to fame, TV on the Radio. Malone’s lyricism propels this grand beginning, although it lacks TVOTR guitarist David Sitek’s disorienting distortion. By album’s end, Malone’s sparse strumming sounds repetitive and boring. It’s easy to miss the lush instrumental work of TVOTR and the only song in which Malone uses dense instrumentation to his advantage is “Hold You Holy,” which sounds like a TVOTR B-side.
“Give Blood,” the album’s first single, is propelled by a simple cowbell rhythm, and it speeds through perfectly-arranged female backing vocals and swooping synths. What Malone is missing isn’t great songwriting or musicianship: it’s sonic experimentation, the ingredient that brought his band to the forefront of indie rock. Malone has the tools; he just fails to fully deliver. On Rain Machine, Malone’s individual strength shines brightly, but the genius is nowhere to be found.
