20 Watts

Reading Rainbow's first single is an awesome, lo-fi stupor of a song

PREVIEW: Download Reading Rainbow’s “The Sun Is Out” MP3

Once you’re done with the obligatory, and necessary, chuckle that accompanies seeing the words Reading Rainbow as a band name, you get to hear what ends up being a pretty good band.  The unsigned Philadelphia duo specialize in noisy, dreamy pop that sounds like a trippier Radio Dept. Lo-fi has become the word of the day of late, yet Reading Rainbow pulls off a brand of it that works– creating a hypnotic, ambient stupor of a song that should grab them some label attention in a hurry.

Besides that, the group is sort of shrouded in mystery and nostalgic hilarity.  Their Myspace page, which possesses the greatest URL ever (levarmotherfuckingburton), only lists Sarah Eee and Robbie Gee as band members.  Their debut EP, Summer Reading, is equally difficult to locate.  Hopefully we find their upcoming full-length Mystical Participation, to be a little bit easier to track down.  If “The Sun Is Out” is any indication, I doubt it’ll be a problem finding a physical copy, but stay tuned for the digital version out August 1st.

– John Cassillo, Reviews Editor