ABOUT
Neon Rain is an independent acoustic duo based in Nashville, TN featuring Trevor Willmott (lead vocals/guitar/piano) and Vinay Shroff (vocals/piano/cajon/tabla/djembe/shakers/tambourine). They have currently released two albums as Neon Rain, their debut “The Magic Box” in January 2009, and their follow-up “Wintersong” in April 2010. Having been friends since middle school, Trevor and Vinay grew up playing music together in Lexington, KY. After moving to Nashville for college, former projects were left behind due to location, and Neon Rain was formed. They are currently working on new material for their third album as well as performing at various venues in the Nashville and Lexington areas. Trevor is also currently in a progressive rock band called Dream the Electric Sleep (formerly known as Jack) which is planning the release of their second concept album in late August 2010.
HIGHLIGHTS
-Coldplay’s Exhibition Room
On April 6, 2010 Neon Rain was featured on Coldplay’s Official Website. The video for “To the Moon” was displayed for a few days in the ‘Exhibition Room’. To view the video on their site, click here.
-Rites of Spring Festival
On April 17, 2009 Neon Rain performed at Vanderbilt’s annual Rites of Spring music festival as the opening act and 1st-place winner of the Battle of the Bands. Other artists that performed that year were:
The Flaming Lips, T.I., Q-Tip, N.E.R.D., Santigold, Grand Ole Party, Okkervil River, Black Joe Lewis, K’NAAN, Sara Watkins, Blueskyreality, Erick Baker, Run With Bull, Stardeath and White Dwarfs, Pico vs. Island Trees.
-Derek Webb’s Twitter
On April 18th, 2010 Neon Rain released their second album “Wintersong” on NoiseTrade. This was their second NoiseTrade release and Derek Webb, famous singer/songwriter and founder of NoiseTrade, commented on the album through his twitter account. Click here to view his post. Also, please check out Derek Webb’s site and go listen to his music. He is an incredible artist.
REVIEWS
-FensePost
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“Neon Rain brings the tone down a notch on their sophomore release, ‘Wintersong’. Here is a precious batch of melodies that send the heart right back to a place we never want to face. This Noisetrade.com break out artist has brought us something desperately special and tantalizing, straight from the darkest coffee shop of Nashville. It is soft bellowing tunes like ‘To The Moon’ that gives us a reason to believe in a higher being. Something this simple yet wholly engaging is hard to hear without feeling the sting of zen, nirvana, and other such spiritual antiquities.
Yes, ‘To The Moon’ is the stand out track from Wintersong. It is a beautiful and transfixiating little number with much to say without a borderline or background of intensity. It’s that quiet track you dare not say a word during the 3 minutes it burns through your heart in fear of missing something. This sort of song is meant for a heavy glass of wine and the eyes of the one you care for most. These guys can bring the poet out of the modest men, as well as compliments from the most conceded. Neon Rain’s days of hiding behind their city’s infamous skyline are just about over.”
-ComfortComes (Wintersong)
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“The extremely talented Nashville based duo Neon Rain are back! Yes the twosome formerly known as Trevor and Vinay individually will be pulling on your heart strings once again with their very own unique blend of bar room worthy tales of sadness, pain, and all the wonderful things in between. Their sophomore release, ‘Wintersong’, is more than just a continuation of their splendid debut ‘The Magic Box’. It is an album so pure in itself it needs no comparison to former works.
Each song upon this delicately intense album is great in its own way. But, their powerful and a bit shocking ‘Electric Lines’ is the cut that truly defines the entire spirit of Neon Rain. It’s soft by nature yet contains just enough insanity and teamwork to make it appealing on so many levels. For an even more relaxing vibe intake, ‘Kaleidoscope’ is not to be overlooked. Overall, ‘Wintersong’ is a perfect example of how every band should continue to improve drastically with every release.
Neon Rain is the perfect coffee shop or dry cleaner’s lounge music. These guys sure know how to bring out the holy ghost of realism in just over a half an hour. This album deserves to be heard through trusting ears and felt with open hearts. As powerful as these simple melodies can seem at times, it is no wonder what really draws these two towards the power of beautiful songwriting. The inexplicable desire to create something so beautiful when you have so much talent is a gift that should never be forgotten and always put to good use. This is a group that is doing just that.”
-ComfortComes (The Magic Box)
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“Neon Rain uses the perfect blend of mellow drama and experimental madness to create the perfect blended frappucino of artistic ingenuity. Their well worded and beautifully crafted album, ‘The Magic Box’ is a spectacular definition of spontaneously combustible calmness. This is an album worthy of a long night by the fireplace or campfire. Or simply around the fire burning in the hearts of the in tune and nourished artist.
The ultimate boy want girl track ‘Through the Rain’ is an obvious highlight. But it is on the Goo Goo Doll esque ditty ‘Your Voice’ that Neon Rain’s inner radiance overflows so that even the weakest of hearts can tell the difference between love and space, time and essence. The stories on ‘The Magic Box’ are those of an elegant and disconcerting stature. They are words for the lost, as well as hope for the desperate.
Welcome to the funeral for those who never lived. The calm stillness of this perfectly preserved of guilt album is a delight on several levels. Each level producing just one more example of natural intoxication through heart wrenching melodies and precarious efforts to contribute to the struggling haven that was once a peaceful existence. So many things beautiful and treacherous are distilled upon your ears as this compilation of obscurity goes on and so wonderfully on.”
