Strange Ranger Share New Single "Rain So Hard" Out Now on Fire Talk
Today, Strange Ranger return with their new single/video, “Rain So Hard,” out via Fire Talk. Strange Ranger “tap into a reality-adjacent realm, a glitch in the hologram or a break in the simulation” (Paste). Beginning with their cult-classic 2020 mixtape, No Light In Heaven, the NYC-via-Philly quartet departed from their early days of lo-fi indie rock, instead opting for a sound rooted in experimental pop, shoegaze, and electronic music. “Rain So Hard” is scaffolded upon layers of oceanic synths, the trill of a marimba, and mournful guitar. Written while bandmembers Isaac Eiger and Fiona Woodman were in the process of breaking up, “Rain So Hard” captures the romantic loneliness of a late subway ride home. “Any day there will be no more stars,” Eiger sings and Woodman echoes, “How do I get out of this movie now?” The accompanying video, directed by Ben Turok, translates this late-night ennui into a technicolor fever dream.
“Towards the end of the movie Slacker, there’s a brief scene where this old guy is wandering around recording his thoughts into a tape recorder. Just kind of rambling about loss and the impossibility of understanding anything while it's happening,” Eiger says. “I don’t know if I saw Slacker around the time when I wrote this song but when I think about the song, that guy sometimes comes to mind.”
This Saturday, March 11th, Strange Ranger will perform at New York’s Pageant, alongside This Is Lorelei (members of Water From Your Eyes), before setting out on a North American tour. Including stops in Atlanta, Louisville and Philadelphia, the tour will also see the band perform a slew of showcases at SXSW. Full dates are listed below and tickets are on sale now.
WATCH STRANGE RANGER’S “RAIN SO HARD” VIDEO
Strange Ranger is Isaac Eiger (vocals/guitar/electronics), Fiona Woodman (vocals/synth/electronics), Fred Nixon (bass/electronics), and Nathan Tucker (drums/electronics). They were deemed by Pitchfork as “ambitious [and] reverent,” praising their last full-length LP, 2019’s Remembering The Rockets, for “imagin[ing] life after indie rock.” With 2020’s No Light In Heaven and “Rain So Hard,” they’ve arrived. Last year, Fire Talk reissued No Light In Heaven, marking the mixtape’s first-ever vinyl release. No Light In Heaven (Expanded) completed the original’s tracklist with a previously-unreleased track,“Raver Explanation,” alongside remixes from Frost Children, Harrison Patrick Smith AKA The Dare, and Blaketheman1000.
“Rain So Hard” is the first taste of much more to come from Strange Ranger in 2023.
STRANGE RANGER TOUR DATES
- Sat. Mar. 11 - Brooklyn, NY @ Pageant
- Mon. Mar. 13 - Columbia, SC @ New Brookland Tavern
- Tue. Mar. 14 - Atlanta, GA @ 529
- Thu. Mar. 16 - Austin, TX @ the Mohawk - Sub Pop x Saddle Creek Showcase SXSW
- Thu. Mar. 16 - Austin, TX @ Cheer Up Charlie’s - Stereogum Showcase SXSW
- Fri. Mar. 17 - Austin, TX @ Swan Dive - Fire Talk Showcase SXSW
- Sat. Mar. 18 - Austin, TX @ The Creek and The Cave - Baby’s All Right Showcase SXSW
- Sun. Mar. 19 - Little Rock, AZ @ Stickyz
- Mon. Mar. 20 - Memphis, TN @ Growlers
- Tue. Mar. 21 - Nashville, TN @ Drkmttr
- Wed. Mar. 22 - Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar
- Fri. Mar. 24 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr Roboto Project
- Sat. Mar. 25 - Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
