Dark Rainbow is the fifth album from Frank Carter and Dean Richardson of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, and it is perhaps their most complete sounding yet. Dark Rainbow marks the clear evolution of the band’s established punk-rock style, and while it’s not a complete departure from their existing sound, this record highlights a promising new direction for the band.
The album is a return to the more melodic alt-rock of their third album, End of Suffering. The stylistic choices for this album are born from a renewed reflection on their careers and lives. Carter and Richardson have created a reflective and emotional tone and do not shy away from slower, more emotional songs that were littered onto previous records in tracks like ‘Why a Butterfly Can’t Love a Spider’ and ‘Neon Rust’. These emotions are now mulled over and placed at the forefront of the work with menacing instrumentals that highlight one of Carter’s most impressive vocal performances to date.
The first track on the album ‘Honey’ is nothing we haven’t seen before from the band, but it is something they do so well. Driving instrumentals provide a strong support for Carter’s melodic but aggressive vocals, with lyrical themes and tone that are familiar to long-time supporters of the band. It is in the next track and lead single ‘Man of the Hour’ that this album takes its unique shape. Carter’s powerful crooning reflections on the life of a rockstar are accompanied by floating synths that build the album’s progressive sound, drawing on post-punk, goth, and classic rock elements.
‘Honey’, ‘Superstar’, and ‘Self Love’ are strong additions to a catalogue of punchy, anthemic rock songs that will have fans of the band screaming along. The album is, however, at its strongest with its powerful, emotional rock ballads. Carter’s vocals shine on tracks like ‘Can I Take You Home’, with vulnerable vocal performances packed with raw emotions.
It must be said that some of the lyrics feel slightly too surface level and lacking in the emotional depth present on the majority of the record. Whilst only a few moments, these take the listener out of the emotional immersion of the album. In contrast to the handful of weaker lines though, the majority of lyrics are poetic musings on love, sex, the band’s past, and their future. The reflective tone of the album is present throughout Carter’s impressive lyricism, with a combination of unembellished and vulnerable writing and deeper, more poetic lines.
Dark Rainbow concludes with the titular track ‘A Dark Rainbow’. It is a beautiful song that begins slowly with soft, contemplative vocals before a riff that brings everything crashing in for an epic chorus. “I’ve been hurt, and I’ve been low…” screams Carter in a raw and haunting reflection on past loves. This track is full of highs and lows and some of Carter’s most impressive vocals to date. ‘A Dark Rainbow’ beautifully captures the tone of the entire album and is a fitting conclusion to what feels like one of the band’s most emotionally and technically complete works so far.
This album is the fantastic culmination of everything that Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes have done so far and promises great things for the future. It is raw, vulnerable, and powerful. If nothing else, I know that I will have Dark Rainbow on loop for the foreseeable future.
9/10