Watch Rainbow Kitten Surprise’s Paste Session from NYC

Rainbow Kitten Surprise has always been sincere to the point of invention. No surprise, then, that their stop at Chelsea Studios NYC for Paste’s latest session saw the group—Paste Session alumna Ela Melo alongside guitarists Darrick “Bozzy” Keller, Ethan Goodpaster, and Drew Long, drummer Jess Haney, and bassist Maddie Bouton—revel in the warm, communal energy the space provides. 

Since forming in 2013 in a Boone, North Carolina, dorm room, Rainbow Kitten Surprise has carved out an industry niche thanks to their singular openness: the band approaches addiction, mental health crises, and an enduring desire to live and love with a lyrical tenderness that feels increasingly rare on today’s alt-rock scene. In recent years, the group has navigated the departures of bassist Charlie Holt, illnesses both mental and physical, and controversial tonal shifts—hiccups that at times seemed they could spell the band’s demise. But last fall Rainbow Kitten Surprise came back swinging on bones, an exuberant, kaleidoscopic exploration of the group’s evolutions that frontwoman Ela Melo once called a “spill-your-guts-out record.” Sparkly and unfiltered, the LP is called bones because it was the group’s effort to sweep the skeletons out from under their beds; working their way through the LP was the very thing that held the group together as they navigated a maelstrom of changes and challenges.

Appropriate, then, that the group began with “Dang,” a contemplative highlight off bones that leans into the band’s signature stoner-guy stylings in a self-referential homage to their longtime fans. Buzzy and raw, Melo’s rich voice is buoyed by energetic drums and a thrumming guitar. When Melo near-shouts “I’ve been working on a project / It’s called you,” it’s easy to imagine she’s singing to the group itself. That energy continued with “Friendly Fire,” the opener on bones. A darling love song quickly self-imploding into a post-breakup lamentation, the tune reminds listeners of the hills and valleys Rainbow Kitten Surprise has travelled to get where they are now. “Coming up for air after a long time / It breathes, it breathes, it breathes, it breathes,” Mela insists, reveling in the space she is at long last able to inhabit. Beachy, unhurried guitars speed up to match an insistent drumbeat, maintaining a delicate balance between living in the present and looking toward the future.

For their closer, the group chose fan-favorite “Cocaine Jesus,” the soundtrack to many late-night dorm-room smoke sessions. As the philosophical number bursts into its infectious, familiar guitar riff, Melo’s voice carries in a way that comes off almost like spoken-word poetry. “I’m more than a need or a thing you believe,” she murmurs as the song fades out; “Or a word that you leave unsaid.” It’s a wonderful encapsulation of the band’s ethos: in order to live, they remind us, we have to be honest—even, and perhaps especially, when it’s hard to do so.

Huge thanks from the Paste team to everyone from Chelsea Studios NYC who helped make such a great session possible. Keep your eyes peeled for more Paste Sessions.

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