Ghost Orchard Rainbow Music

Sam Hall's new album as ghost orchard, `rainbow music', is acollage of patience and meditation. It's filled with nuances asquietly imperceptible as the seasons, or the profound movementof time, where one day looking back you realize yourwhole spirit has shifted. Where 2019's critically revered`bunny' was a love letter to a romantic relationship, `rainbowmusic' documents the culmination of Hall's first personalexperience with loss in several forms. At the end of 2020, hislongterm childhood pet passed away, and with it the lastcontinuing threads of familiarity between being a kid andadulthood. Still based in the Grand Rapids, Michigan townhe'd grown up in, the static ease of familiar living seemed tobe coming apart at the seams, as friends moved on to biggercities, relationships shapeshifted and in a short period oftime, another kitten he'd adopted passed away prematurely,leaving Hall to question the trajectory in which he himself washeaded.Like "songs in the key of life," the title `rainbow music' refersto the myriad of colors and qualities within Hall that arerefracted throughout. It's a symbolization of hope and theaftermath, the flickering light at the end of the tunnel (or"when a rainbow shows up after a big storm"). "Wish I couldhave fun anymore," Hall ruminates on "dancing", as well asconfessing he "wish he made more upbeat bangers." Butreality packs more of a punch, and this collection of songssees him finally be at peace with the current state of affairs.Relatable to anyone who has contemplated what it means tosettle down, or even just catch your breath in an era whereanguish is commonplace, the release of `rainbow music' is ahappy ending in its own right, a marker of survival thatremains close to the bone.