I wanted to highlight a few things about the band today. On paper, it looks like it’s just Neil and I, when there are simply so many people involved, with all different types of creativity that help us realise the music and visuals that you get to see. I thought I would provide my perspective on this ‘musical family’ that helps create our music in so many different ways. 

Steve

Working with Steve throughout the years, writing in bedrooms, on verandas and even long distance, has always been fun and a pleasure - even when he changes his mind. His passion for song writing, the sounds of 60s’ pop and bands like The Beatles and The Monkees has always shone through.

His ear for a great pop melody and love of a maj7th chord comes through in so many of our songs. Steve has worked tirelessly to herd the rest of us cats and his humour and drive have helped bring Echoes of You to fruition. (Neil)

Neil 

I have known Neil for the entirety of my adult life from when we first played in the band Nightwatchman. At this time it was rare to be in a band in Brisbane that didn’t just play covers. In fact, nearly everyone wrote songs in this band. Neil was one of my first inspirations as a songwriter as his originals were poppy and quirky, but he made me feel like I could write songs too. More than anyone he has helped me make the songs in my head come to life. 

He is a fantastic player and is incredible with all things recording, and thankfully has the patience of a saint when dealing with my seemingly infinite changes. Neil plays in another project with his very talented wife Jane, called Jane and the Rain (Rain seems to be consistently following us around). This is quite different to what the English Rain do but I urge you to check them out. (Steve)

Alister 

I was an early fan of Al’s band speedstar who were signed to EMI late 90’s/early 2000s and who were responsible for two incredible records. Their debut album Bruises You Can’t Touch is one of the finest Australian debut albums you will hear and I urge you to familiarise yourself with this band. I never expected Al to go beyond providing the vocals for our first single My Town, but it was obvious that his voice was going to be a major part of this journey.

His passion for the work he has done on this record and his professionalism have added another layer to what we were hoping to achieve. He truly has a magical voice and is one of the nicest people to work with. On the next album, we are hoping you will hear some of his piano skills as well. (Steve)

Cassi 

After the release of My Town, I was approached by a mutual friend to ask if I would co-write with some young country artists and Cassi was the first lady I was lucky enough to work with. Her debut EP is beautiful and I was struck by one track ‘Who I Am’ for its maturity in the writing. It reminded me of what Jackson Browne achieved with These Days at such an incredibly young age. The fact that Cassi could write a song like Who I am before she turned 18 shows a talent well beyond her years. 

Her creativity doesn’t end there though as she is also behind the Lost Minds clothing brand. She has creativity in buckets that seeps into what we do. (Steve)

Hayden

If you live in Brisbane you are very likely to know of Hayden’s band Cheap Fakes. An incredible bunch of musicians playing an eclectic style of music. Serendipitously, Hayden reached out to me while we were recording the album. We had known each other for a while as we both worked in the music industry at the same time. I randomly asked him if he had ever sung a swamp Boogie song before and before we knew it he had recorded two songs for us. His voice is so completely versatile and he was perfect for the songs he has contributed.

Look out for his upcoming solo project, you won’t be disappointed. (Steve)

Jason 

When not being a pinball wizard, Jason helps brings our songs to life behind the mixing desk at Recordworks. He has an almost freakish ear for what a song needs and also just as importantly, what it doesn’t. The time in the studio with him has been one of the most enjoyable, fun and productive times in my life, and I’m generally counting down the days to being back there. Sure, some of that is because he has the new Deadpool pinball machine, but mostly because it is the most relaxing and creative space I’ve been in. 

Add in the warmth that his partner Mel brings, as well as their awesome dog Samson who tends to turn up mostly when beers are opened, and you have this incredible place where creativity flows. We could not have made this record without Jason, simple as that.  (Steve)

Carolyn 

Carolyn has been my best friend for years and has kept me off the ledge for more times than I can remember. Her passion for music is infectious and her creative vision has made this whole project come together. She has designed all of our single covers as well as the incredible album cover that perfectly captures the theme and idea of Echoes of You. She has painstakingly filmed and edited our videos from her own ideas and vision. Even the jobs that I guess are more administrative like the website and Facebook are all down to her, plus she came up with the logo. 

Carol is always with us at the studio, filming and documenting the process and her opinions and ideas on the music has seen her have the honorary title of ‘executive producer’. She is tireless, patient and a doer as well as a cheerleader, a pep talker and someone who is completely honest with us about what we are doing, which is invaluable.  Carol along with her husband Paul also owns and runs the fantastic online clothing store Atomic Cherry. (Steve)

Tammy 

I have known Tammy for about 13 years and her friendship and musical passion is so important to me and her musical recommendations are top-shelf. Tammy has become almost synonymous with our artwork and her non-aging, indie girl looks provided us with a fantastic visual continuity through this album. She is the cover girl for the She’s A Rainbow single cover, the star of the album cover, playing many different roles in just that one photo and along with a random cat, the lead in our She’s A Rainbow video. Not content with doing all of that, she also painted the Paul Weller picture which is on the cover of the record and co-wrote our upcoming single Baby Please. 

Everything you see and hear with The English Rain is down to all of these people. I’m sure other names will be added to the list as we continue to put out music. Mostly, I just wanted to recognise just how much all of these people do. (Steve)

Hi all 

I’m writing this on the eve of the release of our second single She’s a Rainbow. It’s been over four months since we released our debut single and like everyone else, the COVID situation slowed down our progress. However, we are now back on track with loads of exciting news.

As I said above She’s a Rainbow is out on Thursday 30th July. It’s another jangle-pop tune and once again features the vocals of Alister Bell. The song was written after a friend told me she was keen to write some music. At the time when she told me the title, I was a little underwhelmed as I have never been a fan of the Stones track of the same name. She only had one line which was ‘she’s a walking, talking disco ball’ which I thought was fantastic. As it turns out this line described her perfectly and helped me write the song quite quickly. 

We were lucky enough to have the lovely Tammy Whitelaw become the cover girl for the single but also the star of the video. The video was great fun to shoot. Watching Tammy transform into the Rainbow girl was fantastic. Once again Carolyn's creative vision brought the video to life. The video will be out in the next couple of weeks.

The album cover is now finished and we couldn’t be happier. To tie in with the album title, the cover reflects these ‘echoes’. Firstly it captures the echoes of a person who is no longer in the relationship with you. And yet the memories or echoes of them still resonate where you live or the places you go. The other echo aspect of the cover is that of the influences in your life that continue to inspire and resonate with you. This is something that the cover captured perfectly for my life. We will be revealing the cover on Friday! 

All songs are recorded and the final mix of the last couple of songs is happening this week. The album will be 12 songs featuring the vocals of Cassi Marie, Alister Bell (Ex speedstar) and Hayden Bell (Cheap Fakes). The album will be released late September but we will be taking pre-orders for the CD version soon and this will be available prior to the global release. 

Thanks for hanging in there with us. We have lots more exciting stuff to share with you all over the next few weeks

The last few months have provided challenges to all of us with the onset of the pandemic, and I hope that all of our fans, friends and family are staying safe. 

From the band's perspective, we have continued to do what we can with preparing for the album, as well as doing as much as we can to continue to spread the word on our debut single My Town. 

We have been working with The A&R Department who have helped us with attaining numerous interviews and articles to help spread the word about the single. The reviews have been so far universally very positive and I wanted to thank all of those who have taken the time to listen, play and review our music. Most of the links are available on the Media Page if you missed them. This includes reviews as well as radio interviews. 

This Saturday sees our return to the studio since the first recording of the single back in March. Neil and I, along with our photographic biographer and all things creative person, Carolyn will be heading back to Recordworks to finish off the backing tracks, which is mostly guitars at this stage. Then on the 13th of June, we are back in the studio with just about everyone to do some vocals. Alister will be carrying the heavy load here, but I’m thrilled to say that he will be joined on a duet by the incredibly talented Cassi Marie, who will be joining him on the psychobilly track, Baby Please. Craig Landeman will also be joining us to throw down a killer solo on the title track Echoes of You. 

After that, there will be another session or two to finish the vocals and start mixing the record, and hopefully the release of the second single. We would also like to do an acoustic session prior to the album release in September, to give everyone a taste.

I’ll endeavor to get some photos up from the session on Saturday and maybe even some song snippets from the vocal session in a couple of weeks 

Lastly, thank you got everyone who has bought, streamed, shared, or voted on our song. You are essential to spreading the word and we appreciate it greatly. 

Please continue to stay safe.

Steve

So with everything pretty much locked in for Friday's release, I thought I would give some insight into the next step.

We return to Recordworks on the 28th of March to work on the next set of songs. The current plan is to work on 3 tracks which as it turns out are all quite different from each other.

Missing You is a Coldplay-esque piano ballad about the loss of love and trying to work through the aftermath. Alister will be providing vocals on this one.

Echoes of You is a rock track complete with big drums, gothic choir, and face searing solo. I am trying to convince Neil to lay down a Jon Lord style organ track as well. The song is about how the little things sometimes remind us of those we have lost in love and that these memories are like little echoes. Certainly, one of the heaviest songs on the record and again Alister will provide vocals

She's A Rainbow is quite a happy jangle-pop song chock full of chiming Rickenbacker guitars and double handclaps. After the two previous songs being about lost love, this will be a departure and talking about a girl who is 'a walking, talking disco ball'. Steve will likely take lead vocals on this one, but that may well change on the day. Alister has such a great voice, why not have the best person to sing it.

We hope to get a load of photos and footage from the day and possibly even shoot the album cover and we will get as much as this up on the various platforms for you to have a look at.

Not long now till the release of the first single My Town from our forthcoming debut album Echoes of You. With the release of the single we will also be launching our website and Twitter account, so that you can stay up to date with the social media of your choice.

The video has been finalised and looks really good. It manages to capture the feel of the valley at the time Grant was around. I think we were surprised as we worked on the video just how many changes had taken place and how so many iconic places had disappeared.

We have serviced media with the song and video and will keep you posted on where you can see or hear it. If you love it be sure to let your favourite radio station know that you would like to hear it.