Discogs
My Life in Rain formed in the Fall of 1991 with absolutely no expectations. While longtime fans of bands such as Husker Du and the Replacements, the likes of Jawbox and Archers of Loaf became more prevalent as musical influences. Summer of 1993 was the first opportunity for the band to put their music on vinyl, recording the "This is Your Ballistic Helmet" seven inch at WGNS studios with Geoff Turner spinning the knobs. The seven inch, distributed by Cargo, Revolver, and Dischord Direct, garnered positive reviews and led to shows with bands such as the Dambuilders and Chisel. This exposure helped My Life in Rain catch the eye of Grass Records. Their subsequent union has produced the December 1994 release "What People Say."
"What People Say," recorded in four days despite equipment malfunctions and accidental lock outs (three), displayed a My Life in Rain sonically similar to such bands as Jawbreaker and Superchunk. "What People Say" (titled after a segment of a fortune on the back of Pat's guitar which reads "the greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do") gave the band the first real opportunity to successfully refine their intense live performance. Geoff Turner returned to help produce and engineer "What People Say," giving the album surging, noisy guitars and driving rhythms.
After the release of "What People Say," MLIR toured the East coast, appeared on college and alternative radio (both live and on record), and returned to the recording studio on three separate occasions. Highlights of the tour included dates with Archers of Loaf in Hartford, Radial Spangle and labelmates Old Man in Washington, and Andy and Matt's duffel bags being stolen in New York City (go figure). Between tour dates, the band recorded "Pictures of You" (again with Geoff) for the album entitled "Give Me the Cure," a compilation of Cure songs performed by sixteen Washington, D.C. artists. It was an opportunity not only to be associated with such local stalwarts as Shudder to Think, Jawbox, and Edsel, but also a chance to make a small contribution to help end the AIDS epidemic (all profits went to the Whitman Walker clinic). During this time they also had the opportunity to record two of their own songs with Don Zientara at Inner Ear studio, which yielded the February 1996 release of the "Carousel" seven inch for Thought Balloon records. A second session at Inner Ear, in late 1995, produced MLIR's upcoming second album, "Slowburn."
Tracklist
| 1 | Close To Shut | 2:18 | |
| 2 | Codify | 2:49 | |
| 3 | Unsaid | 3:04 | |
| 4 | Venus Cracked | 2:58 | |
| 5 | Better | 3:40 | |
| 6 | Down On You | 2:48 | |
| 7 | Did | 3:00 | |
| 8 | Motion Sick | 3:26 | |
| 9 | Stupid Game | 3:33 | |
| 10 | Ed | 3:01 | |
| 11 | Courage Is | 3:17 | |
| 12 | Long Time | 3:56 |