The Rationales "The Distance in Between"
Bostonians set the controls for melodic power-pop thrills
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Boston-based The Rationales’ debut long player hits the ground running, with the sat-nav definitely set for left-field power-pop nirvana. However, instead of that genre’s inherent aural sweetness, The Rationales have insisted on keeping a natural handful of grit in the mix.
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Their sound throughout these ten precise songs is always very richly melodic, with organs, chiming guitars and harmonies lacing each track with enough to get the incisors firmly stuck in to. Whilst they don’t sound startlingly unlike anybody else in the musical stratosphere, their textured melodic rock, fizzes with an energy that becomes increasingly difficult not to let yourself wholeheartedly sink in to .
Crafted with vigour and sharp tunes, a lot of the material has a brash power-pop aesthetic coursing through it, however they do mix in a little bit of pleasing discomfort. The irresistible ‘Braedon’ takes the stock power-pop ingredients, then adds a touch of Costello’s brash melodic cadences, and a splash of Pavement-esque alt-rock left turns to proceedings, though never enough to throw it off its A1 full-speed course straight to joyous indie-pop thrills.
Head Rationale, and Guitarist/singer/songwriter David Mirabella sometimes comes up wanting in the vocal department (the otherwise spot-on ‘Jaded’ and ‘Burned Again’ being prime offenders) but somehow adds a little cursory edge to the feel of the record. Guitarist Kevin McMahon sings his own excellent ‘Try to Tell Me’ which has the album’s most swaggeringly rootsy feel, and a chorus that is designed to be shouted back at them in arenas. Elsewhere ‘Slower/Faster’ shows off a liking for distinctly anglicised-indie and is all the better for it, with its rich melodies and precise, affecting chord patterns.
‘The Distance In Between’ is an impressive display of crunchy guitar pop. This particular rationale appears to be almost spot-on.
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