As anticipated, The Rainy Day Apparel have delivered new music that exceeds my expectations. Including two previously released singles, “Moon, Light, Waves” (2020), and “Freakin’ Out” (2021), the recently released EP “Views” boasts three new songs to tantalize your eardrums with. Vocalist Nathan Ess’s voice consistently shines through the beautiful instrumentals added to support each song, the EP recorded at his home in Carman, MB, and mixed/mastered by Evan Giesbrecht. The group’s raw talent simply radiates within this project.
The EP’s opening track, “Towns,” hints upon the downfalls of social media. Nathan articulates the annoying truth of how strangers rationalize their unsolicited advice, “Veiled it in kindness / I’ll get through the gates if I remind them to have a blessed day.” For myself, personally, I find popular social media platforms these days tend to tear people apart more than they bring people together, so fully appreciate Nathan’s message here.
“Skipping Stone” is a journey of being unsure, and I found this track to be easily relatable. “I don’t really know what drives me now / I’m lost more than I am found / Since when was it not OK to live in the gray,” Nathan projects as an expression of trying to find oneself. Society dictates we need to make something of ourselves but fails to acknowledge the difficulty we often have in doing so. Living in the gray can be the most fun part of that story if we just let ourselves enjoy the process.
“Luck” gives listeners a glimmer of hope that good things do come around. I particularly love the second verse: “Bad luck is calling my name / It ain’t exactly news / I complain that nothing goes my way / But then how do I explain you? / I can’t explain you,” Nathan is simply telling us that someone special came along when least expected, not indifferent to a silver lining amongst storm clouds.
The Rainy Day Apparel continue to spread their wings and find new audiences, and the more time I spend enjoying their music, the more excited I am to follow their growth and their evolution in sound since first encountering them a couple of years ago. I have no doubts that we will be hearing much more from them in the near future.
Jess has always enjoyed a wide range of music genres and eras. Connecting deeply with classical music, she played cello from grade school through high school, and although no longer actively playing, her affinity for finding an emotional connection to music is still strong. Residing in central PA, she is new to the Canadian music scene and enjoys listening to new artists as a way to break away from “the usual.” Jess is an avid yogi who often finds a sliver of peace while on the yoga mat with good music playing in the background.
