Rayon’s ‘Colour’ album – released in October 2022 – presented twelve tracks of pleasingly angular indie/post rock throughout a vinyl friendly forty minutes. Although there were times when main man Eric Sabatino’s work couldn’t claim to be one hundred percent original, the best bits of that long player were hugely entertaining. The highlights really showed off a band who could work a great riff: ‘Canada’ attacked with a harsh guitar sound coupled with a funky bassline, sounding like a deep cut from XTC’s ‘Drums & Wires’ before introducing a faintly psychedelic vocal; ‘Come Along’ mixed classic indie rock riffs with a finely tuned sinister edge, occasionally sounding like Robyn Hitchcock fronting the early 80s Cure, and ‘Blue Nights’ applied a fierce jangle and contrasted that with a vocal that was far more attuned with a dream pop sound, creating something surprisingly effective.

Three years on, the two track ‘Shopping’/’Running’ release gives fans (and potential fans) a pair of numbers that are of a similarly high quality. ‘Shopping’ – arguably the stronger of these tracks – hits the listener with a classic post punk sound with immediate effect. For those able to make it past the not entirely melodic guitar riff, this is a track that offers some brilliant retro treats: as things progress, the bass hits upon a pleasingly fat tone that works very effectively against a detached vocal; an even bigger sounding guitar hints at a slightly more contemporary post-rock tone but, best of all, the climax introduces a flowing vocal melody and swirling guitar that owes more to well played shoegaze. It’s more about a mood than immediate hooks, but in setting up some great retro alternative atmospheres, this is a great listen.

‘Running’, by comparison, is a little more melodic, and that in turn brings its own strengths. A busy guitar part employed during the intro owes more to Bloc Party than a wealth of older post punk bands, but as the number starts to expand, so too does the bass groove and a few of the arrangement’s darker textures. Soon enough, a pulsing bassline connects this with ‘Shopping’, but a hazy vocal does its utmost to ensure everything feels suitably different. Once everything finds its feet, Rayon – a band at this point that includes links with the brilliant Sun Atoms – hit upon a really interesting rhythm, but without losing sight of a decent melody, blending classic indie sounds with an arty flair. If anything catches the ear here, though, its the track’s coda, where Rayon abandon their main melody and launch into a floatier, heavy dream pop sound, tapping into something more attuned to the shoegaze crowd. There’s a feeling that, if fleshed out, this might have made a great track on its own, but perhaps it feels striking due to its unexpected arrival. Whichever way you approach it, it sounds superb.

For those who enjoyed ‘Colour’, this will provide some fine extra listening, no matter how much of a gap there has been between releases. In a little under ten minutes, it provides an effective, bite-sized showcase of a talented band at work, making the very best of their garage based studio set up, and sharing material that promises so much for the road ahead, no matter how long it is before they next return.

January 2026