New Rayons: “Our Future”

What have been Rayons been up to for the last few years? The Flau-associated project responsible for some of the more aching string-heavy music to come from that label spent some time creating the soundtrack to an anime called Sagrada Reset. Considering my past accidental revelations that I know very little about anime, it shouldn’t be a shock this was my first encounter with it. But maybe…maybe!…that works in my favor, because I have no connection to this cartoon, which means I can offer up a different perspective listening to “Our Future” from the forthcoming album collecting Rayons’ work for this program. This definitely sounds vaguely soundtrack-tipped, seeing as the singing opts for syllables serving really as another layer than anything that would get in the way of the action on screen. But Rayons has excelled at bringing together a variety of sounds — stringed or otherwise — to create emotionally resonant numbers. Here, the human voice adds a warmth that the violin and piano only underlines further, the whole thing building towards a big climax that fades into a more understated outro. Whatever the context, it’s Rayons operating at what they do oh so well. Listen above.