There’s no better way to start a new year than with some new music, especially when new music comes in the form of New York’s incredible Luke Rathborne. Having recently released new single ‘Losing It’ and announced a new album, now’s the perfect time to fall in love with Rathborne (and as I’ve discovered it’s pretty much inevitable that you will).
Rathborne’s been described as a plethora of things – kraut-rock, garage-rock, art-punk, War on Drugs-esque, Prince-like – but his brilliance is undisputed. ‘Losing It’ is enough to get you hooked on his talent, getting you lost in a whirl of complex melodies and ethereal falsetto vocals. Yet something about Rathborne remains completely laid back. With bassist Darren Will and drummer Jamie Alegre, Rathborne works the rest of the magic (keys, percussion, synths…) and they create something truly magical.
With his last release Soft racking up 3 million streams on Spotify in the last few months, Rathborne’s next album Again is set for release in March on his own label True Believer. Amidst the tons of bands making comebacks this year, Luke Rathborne is your healthy dose of something completely fresh.
Luke Rathborne 2016 USA Tour (UK Dates to be announced)
3/8 Boston, MA – Great Scott *
3/9 NYC – Elvis Guesthouse *
3/10 Washington DC – DC9 *
3/12 Savannah – Savannah Stopover Festival
3/14 New Orleans – Gasa Gasa*
3/15 – 3/18 – SXSW TBA
3/21 Hot Springs AR – Valley of the Vapors Festival
3/24 El Paso, TX – Lowbrow Palace *
3/25 Phoenix, AZ – Valley Bar*
3/26 San Diego, CA – Hideout*
3/28 Fullerton, CA – Continental Room*
3/29 Los Angeles, CA – Club Bahia*
3/30 San Francisco, CA – The Rickshaw Stop*
4/1 Portland, OR – Mississppi Studios *
4/2 Seattle, WA – Barboza*
4/3 Vancouver, BC – Cobalt*
4/5 Salt Lake City – Kilby Court*
4/6 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge*
* with Alex Caldner
Melissa Svensen
@MelYeaahh
Photo Credit: Shervin Lainez