The Faraway Places

Out with the Rain, the Thunder, the Lightning

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Record Review by Kevan Peterson

The Faraway Places deliver Out with the Rain, the Thunder, the Lightning, the band's second full length album with a makeup of artists that starts to read like a class roster.  The glue holding this ensemble together appears to be Donna Coppola who provides vocals and keys and Chris Colthart who plays guitar and sings. 

The album opens with a minute of distortion and otherworldly sounds before launching into a heavily '60s-inspired rock piece, “The Sun Goes West.”  They back off and go timid on the follow up track “Keep it Alive” where Coppola takes front and center vocally.  The band plays roughly with structure, launching into a few psychedelic trips, but seldom staying in the ethereal long enough to be considered Acid Rock.  “F.F.F.F.Fall Down,” takes the cake for most original song title, mirroring the stuttering vocals that make up the chorus. 

The band plays loose and gives the sense that a live performance may differ wildly from the studio version, especially given the fact that the members seem to rotate in and out like short order cooks at a 24 hour diner.  The Faraway Places may not be as different from their earthbound counterparts as they hope to be, but they are far enough along in their careers to make better music than many mere mortals.