by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
Railings are not your typical band. In fact, they aren't even your typical "experimental" band. The band's chosen distance from their peers however is part of what makes them important. The Brooklyn quartet have built a vast and boisterous sound, one that glimmers with retro R&B and surging progressive tendencies, a sound that is simultaneously brilliant, over the top, and undeniably "free". It's crooning pop ballads, polished psych head-trips, and sleazy funk... all compressed into their unique hyper color world of blown out soul... and with all that said, Railings remain an experience you truly need to hear to believe.
After a series of albums and EPs, Railings are set to release their latest album ) ( in February via their own Meta-Erring Records, a self-described "hypothetical" label. Led by former Ava Luna drummer Alex Ian Smith, Railings' have carved out their own art-pop sound, evident on the record's first single "Breaking The Bong". The song is built on a bubbling funk groove and an impassioned croon, soaring in with sweeping melodies and a lo-fi fluorescence. Smith sets the lyrical tone from the start with seemingly broken ideas and a desire to snap free of monotony:
"fuck all the entertainers
an eye for an eye
slip back into the culture
they kept your place warm for you"
The smoothly howled vocals and layered synths hint at something retro or at least a futuristic perception of what retro is... or what it could have been. Railings bridge the gaps between disco's seedy underbelly and glam-tinged prog rock, blurring the lines between disparate genres with a heart of gold and an elastic soul. "Breaking The Bong" is big league fun with the twisted yet genuine sincerity to make it work.
Railings' ) ( is due out February 2017 via Meta-Erring Records.