Part concept album, part self-therapy, guitarist and vocalist Ben Jorgensen has had the idea for The Rain Museum since way back in 2007. It was originally supposed to be a followup and complimentary piece to Smile For Them but the band’s label at the time encouraged them to move in a different direction. This ultimately led to friction and dissolution amongst the band and their untimely breakup in 2009.
During the pandemic, Jorgensen revisited the idea and, while going through a painful marriage breakup, wove in some of his own personal emotions as part of a healing process that ultimately elevated the project by lending it a more relatable quality. The overall concept storyline itself is an interesting one. Set in the future in a post-apocalyptic world where weather no longer exists on the planet, residents of Earth flock to a museum (the titular ‘Rain Museum’) which is filled with relics from humanity’s past. At the end of the story, they choose to die there instead of face the depressing realities of their own world. The fable exists as a little lesson to not get too stuck on the past and to exist in the now, but perhaps its also warning us not to let our world get to that kind of state in the future either. Regardless, you don’t need the backstory to enjoy and appreciate the record, but it helps.
Opening with the title track, ‘The Rain Museum’ really sets the scene. Like a dramatic pre-credit sequence that opens up the action and drags you into the world of the movie, this track has all the theatrics of a full cinematic experience. It’s fully instrumental. Starting with delicate piano it’s perhaps not the beginning you might have expected, but then it slowly expands and gets slightly heavier towards the end. Close your eyes and imagine that post-apocalyptic world for a moment.
Once that’s over we’re into more familiar Armor For Sleep territory. Soaring sad boy melodies and catchy chorus hook lines; some depressing, some more uplifting (but still in a depressing way). The topics and themes of the lyrics rise above the original concept and can work in any context, which makes the album work on multiple levels regardless of whether listeners are aware of the backstory or not. On poignant tracks like ‘How Far Apart’ and ‘In This Nightmare Together’, for example, you can really hear those personal touches bleeding through as Jorgensen reflects on his relationship and what went wrong.
‘World Burn Down’ is one of the faster numbers with a head-bopping pop punk edge and your typical early 2000s structure but overall it’s mostly the softer delicate moments that the album leans more towards rather than the heavier side. ‘Rather Drown’ is the dreamy, atmospheric climax to the album leading up to the final moments of the storyline. Then we have ‘A Teardrop On The Surface Of The Sun’ where the pace really picks up as we hurtle to the close. It’s dramatic, soaring and much heavier and urgent than most of the other tracks. ‘Spinning Through Time’ ends the album where it begun – with soft dreamy piano.
Despite having many modern elements and a neat, clean production, the album still sounds like a follow up to Smile For Them. It still sits easily amongst the rest of the band’s back catalogue and very much maintains the Armor For Sleep style and sound. It’s got some real throwback moments that are sure to appeal to the ‘elder emos’ but hopefully hook in some newer fans too. Overall it’s just great news to have this classic band back with us and while The Rain Museum doesn’t exactly push new boundaries, it’s a lovely album with some great moments.