Bad Veins - Rainbow Connection

Bad Veins is Benjamin Davis vocals, guitar; Jake Bonta, drums; and live member, "Irene," a 1973 Pioneer reel-to-reel recorder that handles filling out the duo's lush studio soundscapes onstage. The Cincinnati, Ohio-based two-piece is best described as an opulent hodgepodge of sounds and aesthetics, including warm analog ambience, busted electronic textures, symphonic and choral bits, and stately arrangements and compositional conventions that recall indie Charlie And The Chocolate Factory as much as they recall the blissed-out orchestral indie-pop stylings of producer Dave Fridmann's iconic work with Mercury Rev and the Flaming Lips.  

The Mess Remade is a 13-track album that rewards with repeated listens. Each track is its own sonic island crafted from a dizzying array of textures, vocal harmonies, and dense thickets of melody. "Often the songs start off with just me humming over an acoustic guitar, but Jake's sound is so big that the songs end up being this hellacious ruckus with me experimenting with like a tuba," Benjamin says laughing. The Mess Remade features the transcendently beautiful fan favorite "Kindness," the sublimely beautiful "I Shut My Heart Down," and a wide-eyed and triumphant rendition of "Rainbow Connection."