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Music

Black Rainbow's "Possible" Will Make You Love Yourself, Even If You're a Punk

This band is made up of, collectively, about 60 years of punk.

Being a punk “lifer” can go a few ways. First: you’re 23, managed to make it past your teens still liking punk, still got your patches, and you call yourself a lifer because, having inherited a scene over 30 years old, imagination isn’t your strong suit so you can’t really envision yourself being something else. We’ll see. Second option: you’re in your 40s, sitting at the end of the bar, haven’t made music in few years, but your Amebix backpatch is top-notch. Everyone knows who you are, or at least who you used to be, and young female punks know to stay far, far away. Tertiary option and thank fucking no god and no master this type exists, there is the type of “lifer” that makes up Black Rainbow.

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Black Rainbow is made up of, collectively, of about 60 years of punk. The members (Ivy Jeane, Erick Lyle, Morgan Stickrod, and Jacqui Cornetta) have over two decades of community activism and care, genuine attempts at subversion, and more punk bands than a boy with just two hands can count. Of course, none of this would mean shit if they didn’t have the songs. And the songs on Black Rainbow’s debut, out now on rambunctiously anarchist adora-core label Starcleaner, are hella sick. Noisey is premeiring the band's new song, “Possible.” It’s a raucous basement show love song, but still catch enough to make the Clueless soundtrack. Erick Lyle, who has previously written for VICE about almost joining Black Flag, was kind enough to give a description of the song for us.

"My lyrics on this record are in many ways a response to feelings of negativity or loss that come from the collapse of social movements in this time of never ending war or the ongoing economic disparity between the rich and the poor. These songs are about resisting despair and finding hope and connection. Connecting with others and connecting with your own experience and feelings. "Possible," more specifically, has a dual meaning, as it is the first love song I've ever written, but it's also not just about love for another person but self-love. It's about holding onto what you believe in and finding a way to live a life that is meaningful to you, whatever that looks like. It's about acknowledging love as a revolutionary force whether it's between people, communities, or inside yourself."