J.R.C.G. and the art rock destruction of "Rainbow"

 

"a calm maniac is always the most terrifying"

The track "Rainbow" by divergent artist J.R.C.G. (the solo project of Dreamdecay's Justin R. Cruz Gallego) does not have the sensory multi-colored jubilant brightness of it's name. Instead it feels like a soundtrack to some otherworldly bit of nasty on some garish episode of American Horror Story. If you are like me, you are probably getting excited at that description or maybe have a very distant knot in your stomach. Push play and that knot might get gleefully tighter. 

Cruz has a way of crafting sounds, creating atmospheres that pound away relentlessly and make you feel off center. I love this. Key for me, besides the screaming instrumentation is the sort of stoic, yet manic, drumming (that high hat work makes it for me) and Cruz's cries or wails that feel (at their center) calm. A calm maniac is always the most terrifying. I wish I could understand what he is saying but it might be beside the point anyway. Oh, and the bass absolutely kills. 

"Rainbow" is, yet, another single from J.R.C.G.'s upcoming debut album "Ajo Sunshine" dropping November 19 (2021) via Castle Face. 

-Robb Donker Curtius

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:


https://justingallego.com/

https://www.instagram.com/j_r_c_g/

https://twitter.com/Dreamdecay_

https://soundcloud.com/castle-face-1/j-r-c-g-rainbow/s-qAjGMO94YKy


This month, J.R.C.G. (the solo project of Dreamdecay's Justin R. Cruz Gallego) unveiled "Rainbow," another single off their forthcoming debut, Ajo Sunshine (due November 19 via Castle Face). Treblezine hosted the premiere.

On the track, Louis says:

"In the allure of nostalgia J.R.C.G. stands alone with his futuristic flavor of art rock. Breathing new life into tradition, 'Rainbow is no exception.' Sonically dense with rich blown out drums and lush free flowing synthesizer, 'Rainbow' pushes the genre to a modern edge while nurturing the spirit of Can, Pharaoh Sanders, and Eno/Fripp era collaboration."

Ajo Sunshine (say it with me folks, “Ahh-Ho”) is heralded by an alarming horn ensemble, stabbing with the dramatic urgency of a killer’s theme in a midnight movie. It’s a jarring but appropriate entry point for this brilliantly blasted listen, an array of exquisitely sharp edges punctuated by kaleidoscopic respites of throbbing warmth and surprising tenderness. J.R.C.G. (Justin R. Cruz Gallego)’s previous work with Seattle’s excellent Dreamdecay may foreground the broad strokes here, but he’s pushed things way outward in terms of his sonic palette. Abutting field recordings captured from rodeos off Ajo Way, a stretch of highway that leads you westward out of Tucson Arizona directly into the sun, both acoustic instruments and gleaming walls of synthetic noise are framed in dour and dissonant chord shapes, crackling with overdriven drum mics and seasick waves of distortion. It’s homage that plays out like a collage, a dream switching from station to station, a series of dedications broadcast on late night radio. All pin-hole size images from scenes never seen whole, strung together in but one version of complete. It all makes for a dazzling listen and it’s out on Castle Face November 19th.

 
J.R.C.G., Experimental Electronic, Gothic / Dark Wave, Alternative Rock, art rock, debut album, "AJO Sunshine", the solo project of Dreamdecay's Justin R. Cruz Gallego, "Rainbow"