Sony Music Publishing artist Raynes' highly anticipated EP, "'49" is available everywhere Friday, November 8th. Composed of five songs, the title is inspired by the American gold rush of 1849, in which nearly 100,000 people flocked to California in the hopes of staking a claim and striking gold. The EP employs this historical event as the backdrop against which the songs are set, both sonically and lyrically. For Raynes, this thematic concept shares many similarities with their own journey as a band-leaving their hometowns and loved ones, moving to California, and enduring the risks and uncertainties of the music industry as they try to stake their own claim and "strike gold."
Raynes is a British-American trio that is truly a love story in and of itself. Lead singer Mark Race was recruited by North Dakota’s Mat Charley and Joe Berger - only to leave everything he knew in the UK, join a band, and pursue a dream. Race was on a flight days later and never looked back. So much so that his only tattoo is one of two letters and four numbers: his flight number from that fateful day. His first trip to the United States was the first day of the rest of three young men's lives.
Sonically, “'49” is somewhat darker than most of Raynes' catalogue. Sliding strings, lonesome whistles and washed-out tremolos combine with the rattle of a snake, the cry of a hawk and the howl of a wolf to evoke the loneliness and desolation of the historical American West.
“On a molecular level, ’49 is fundamentally about death,” the trio said. “The lyrics explore the emotions of someone desperate to discover the mother lode in the bedrock or the oasis of the desert, wondering if failure is the price of freedom.”
From the lead single, "American Waters", which premiered on People.com, to the up-tempo “Tie Me to The Tracks” to “Animal Skulls” and “I’m Already Losing You” the darker corners of the emotional journey still glimmer with a sense of strength and certain honesty. It’s then in the last track, "Babylon” that Raynes lifts the emotional tenor of the project into a sense of near optimism. The sonic elements of the track reflect its subject matter as well—the string arrangements are more joyful, the vocals are more triumphant, and the interplay between a tin whistle, a fiddle and a bouzouki contributes to an uplifting, almost Celtic atmosphere.
“We wanted to end with an unmistakable element of hope,” the band said. “Just as many of the forty-niners left California after failing to strike it rich, we too left Los Angeles at the end of 2023. We’re searching for a different kind of gold now – we really do believe we’ve already struck artistic alchemy in becoming Raynes.”
“’49” track listing:
1. "American Waters” (as premiered on PEOPLE)
2. “Tie Me to the Tracks”
3. “Animal Skulls”
4. “I'm Already Losing You”
5. “Babylon”
Raynes is currently touring. Additional dates to be announced soon.
November 8 | The Grove | Anaheim, Calif.*
November 9 | Fred Kavli Theatre | Thousand Oaks, Calif.*
January 10 | Rialto Theatre | Tucson, Ariz.*
January 11 | Marquee Theatre | Tempe, Ariz.*
January 17 | Revel | Albuquerque, N.M.*
January 18 | Orpheum Theater | Flagstaff, Ariz.*
*Support to Yachtley Crew
