Indie shoegaze, alt-pop, and everything in between. Rainbow City Park’s range on full display in debut EP Fruitless
By: Isabella Holmes for The Dirt
Rainbow City Park’s sonic range is on full display in their debut EP Fruitless. The five-track project is an impressive representation of the band’s skillful fusion of influences and the genuine synergy of their members.
The band has been working on this project for more than a year, culminating in a 20-stop tour that will take them up and down the West Coast.
Home base is the Davis-Sacramento area, and Rainbow City Park’s name pays homage to their roots—that giant city-owned play structure built by Davis neighbors in Community Park.
Rainbow City Park was formed in 2022 and consists of five members: vocalist Dani Judith, guitarist Chris O’Keefe, drummer Ryan Williams, guitarist Nick Nassab, and their newest addition, bassist Jake Kaspari.
Fruitless EP marks a shift for the band, as they lean more heavily into a 90’s alternative rock/shoegaze sound, melding seamlessly with the dream pop style that characterized their earlier releases. “Paramore meets DIIV,” O’Keefe explains.
The wavy, rich melodies and introspective lyrics compliment strong rhythm and riffs, yielding a project that dances on the intersection of balance and vibrancy.
“There’s just more energy and more energy and more energy,” frontwoman Dani Judith told The Dirt. “And that’s a direct result of all of us writing together.”
The band credits the diversity of their members’ music tastes with the commensurate variety of the tracks.
Citing influences of experimental rock, progressive rock, and punk, “There isn’t anybody in the group who has a really laid back music taste,” Judith said. “So we’ve been pushing it in the last year.”
Rainbow City Park worked with producer Mike Davis, spending a week in residency at the Panoramic House in West Marin to track the EP.
“This was Davis’ first full production effort with the band, and he informed so many signature moments throughout the collection,” according to RCP.
“It came together in the studio. We had all the parts, and then we got creative with it,” O’Keefe said. “It’s cool bringing a riff to the group, and seeing it take shape into something else and start to belong to the group.”
While Rainbow City Park never stops writing together, their immediate plans involve lots of shows and enjoying the release of their first full project.
“We’re in the Fruitless Era,” Judith said.
Head to rainbowcitypark.com to join their email list. Find them on Spotify and Instagram @rainbowcitypark.
Rainbow City Band photographed by Aiden Harper (IG: @a1danharper).
