REVIEW: Rainbow Kitten Surprise - Bones

We live in a kaleidoscopic world, the limits of creativity a thing of the past - where before things were put into strictly prescribed boxes, those constraints have been blown wide open and nothing is truly underground. The explosion of the internet and technology in general has hastened the end of the stranglehold of gatekeepers deciding if something is art or not, as millions of people are able to express themselves without having to put everything through a committee. Nowhere is this truer than with music, the ability to sidestep fences leading to one person’s idea being seen through and put out there for the whole globe to savour. Thankfully we’ve been pushing towards a point when all are received and embraced and, although the battle continues, it’s a better world where bands like RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE can be heard and loved, no matter where you are.

Hailing from Boone in the Blue Ridge Mountains area of North Carolina, the quartet were formed when two friends decided from their dorm room that a life making music was going to be the thing they really wanted to do. Now, twelve years later, fifth album Bones brings the next step in their vision to life, the band swiftly following up last year’s critically and publicly acclaimed Love Hate Music Box with another venture in sound and light. Shaped by their experiences over the recent events like the cancellation of the whole of 2023’s touring cycle caused by a band member’s illness, and parting company with bass player CHARLIE HOLT in 2024, there was a lot of catching up to do, and Bones feels the result of an outpouring of creativity that came as a riposte to those blows, the outfit pushing forward harder than ever. To follow the catharsis of the previous album in such a bold way shows just how much these KITTENS have grown.

Thankfully, none of this latest release feels forced, and those who have been with the band from the beginning will find a natural progression evident, with new delights that widen their appeal further without ever selling out their core identity. Sonically, there’s a lot to take in and the broad choices of colours, tones and textures are ever more radiant as the album unfolds from the dreamy brightness of opener Friendly Fire onwards. The defiant Hell Nah sounds like TWENTY ONE PILOTS on one of their most relaxed days, the tensions bringing sparks of life to every note and ELA MELO’s vocals lighting up the sky. Another left turn with the intriguing title track, the song twisting and turning as it unfurls before 100 Summers brings a bracing rush of fresh air, wrapped in a snotty energy.

When an album goes from the contemplative and shimmering Murder to the upbeat and powerful statement of love of Dang, its wholly head-spinning, the delicious waves of sounds and emotions incredibly heady in effect. Whilst very personal, there’s a universality here that means that numbers like King could perfectly soundtrack time in college halls of residence or road trips with equal aplomb, the fretwork of MELO, ETHAN GOODPASTAR and DARRICK "BOZZY" KELLER bringing a luminous cathedral of sound as drummer JESS HANEY drives things along, the four voices an overwhelming wash of emotions. Every track has its own identity and with the sparse Stars, gossamer touch of Americana on Texas Hold Em and the sweeping grandeur of Tropics you’ll keep wanting to come back time and time again. Only they know where they’ll head next, but with RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE every new chapter is full of wonder.

Score: 8/10

Bones will be released on September 26th 2025 via Atlantic Records.

Words: Paul Monkhouse

Photos: Rainbow Kitten Surprise