“How To: Friend, Love, Freefall” by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

First of all, the band’s name doesn’t roll off the tongue for me. “Kitten” and “surprise” are not in my vocabulary, and I only use Rainbow to describe music relating to the band, Rainbow, and the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” Let’s have a listen. 

Opening with a surprisingly short song of only 23 seconds, “Pacific Love” has an interesting sound and is so short it makes you want to listen to more songs to find the rest of that sound. The following tune, “Mission to Mars,” has a soft yet pushing tone to it as if the listener is slowly making their way toward space. 

“Fever Pitch” is a song that alludes to religion, beginning with a slow start and transforms to a head-bopping feature of tom drums and bass. This one seems to compare young love to the feeling of drugs. I can see how it was the big single from the album.  

Next comes RKS’s most popular song, “It’s Called: Freefall,” with 172 million streams on Spotify. To me, the song described how our darkest times can give us a glimpse to what it’s like to give into death, but life isn’t something that should be thrown away, even when the times are hardest. 

“Holy War” describes the world as the new Babylon and the unsolvable corruption in the world. I didn’t particularly like the next song, “Matchbox.” The lyrics may be deep, but its sound didn’t feel right compared to the rest of the album. After that is “Moody Orange,” another soft-sounding song with a changing flow throughout the listen. 

Vocalist Ela Melo is also a member of the LGBTQ+ community and describes the fear of losing family because of who she loves in “Hide.” The following song, “When It Lands,” is about yearning for someone to come back and being on edge to see them again. 

“Painkillers” focuses on addiction, specifically how it affected the vocalist’s own mother. Personally, it’s nice to hear a song explaining that it’s an actual issue and not something to romanticize. Then comes “Recktify,” a song about an argument between a couple, but to me, felt rushed to drive the purpose home. 

“Possum Queen” features an odd-sounding introduction and nothing more than vocals, tom drums and keys. This is a song about moving on from the relationship after it’s over and how to find closure.  

To close out the album is “Polite Company,” which feels like it was supposed to be two separate songs. This one tells what seems to be a warning about loving the wrong person, and personal goals can conflict with love and simply not work out. 

Overall, I don’t listen to this style of indie, and wouldn’t give most of the songs on the album a second listen. Regardless, my top picks are “Mission to Mars,” and “Painkillers,” and my personal favorite “It’s Called: Freefall.” 

Note: Jacob’s Playlist is a weekly music review column by reporter Jacob Ackerman. He specializes in covering rock and metal, but he also delves into a variety of other genres. While he primarily covers music from the 70s, 80s, and 90s, he also covers new releases.