Bearded and bespectacled, Kyp Malone is always a welcome sight as a guitarist and singer in TV On The Radio. With that band on hiatus, Malone has stepped out on his lonesome with a self-titled debut under the name Rain Machine. As a side project should be, its woolly and unrefined, with producer Ian Brennan (Ramblin Jack Elliott, Lucinda Williams) knowing better than to gloss over the ramshackle, kitchen-sink vibe. Theres reportedly a Beyonce influence on Give Blood, while other tracks mingle far-flung sounds over gorgeous guitar parts and lyrics alternately stormy and silly. The six-minute-plus Smiling Black Faces tackles genocide, references Nelson Mandela, and reveals gospel in its DNA, spelling an upswing despite such rocky topical terrain. Songs only get longer and more dire in the albums second half, but theres an intimacy guiding things, as if Malone knows hes putting it all on the line without the comfort of his regular band. Free of that dense, surreal atmosphere, hes exposed to the world. DOUG WALLEN
Thu., Oct. 1, 8 p.m., 2009
