Rain Machine

iTunes Review

Kyp Malone is truly a restless soul. Not content with making music with TV On the Radio and Iran, he ventures out with his solo vehicle Rain Machine. Malone’s distinctive voice has rarely sounded this compelling — by turns, he sings with a strangled howl, a creepy falsetto and a keening yodel. The ominous mood he sustains throughout is enhanced by lean, prickly arrangements blending the bleakest aspects of gospel with the haunting tones of traditional folk balladry. Songs like “Smiling Black Faces,” “Leave the Lights On” and “Free Ride” blaze with submerged fire, gaining power from their restraint. The fragmented lyrics of songs like “Winter Song” and “Desperate Bitch” conjure up shadowy country landscapes blighted by violence and oppression. The more animated tracks — especially the percussion-driven “Give Blood” and the galloping, oddly bluesy “Hold You Holy” — are riveting and unnerving at once. Within this dark framework, Malone manages some elegant moments, such as the misty atmospherics in “Driftwood Heart.”