Central Rain is the project for esteemed Melbourne-based, Gold Coast/Brisbane expat singer/songwriter Luke Thomas (The Ronson Project) and we are honoured to premiere the video for for the gorgeous track ‘She Showed Me Her Room’. The track is off Central Rain’s new album ‘Paint Over Paint’ – to be released Friday, 26 July 2024. As a sign of what’s to come, the project name was influenced by the classic R.E.M. track.
The track is shimmering and haunting – delivered over jangling acoustic guitars framed with slide guitars and Thomas’s vocals edged with a roughness through the sweet refrain. It has moving pop melody that positively shimmers with a George Harrison-evoking guitar solo. Thomas says of the track:
This song was probably the catalyst for the whole album. There was just something special about it. I was lucky enough to have Ashley Naylor play slide on the record. With the slide, it reminds me of a Jackson Browne song from the Late For The Sky era.
The track captures a certain pop majesty with its anthemic grace, and the accompanying video sees Thomas front and centre performing with a burning intensity befitting the track:
You can get ‘Purchase ‘She Showed Me to Her Room’ single and pre-order Paint Over Paint on through the link below.
‘Paint Over Paint’ will be released July 26 on Limited Edition LP and digitally.
Luke Thomas has been a go-to guy in Melbourne since relocating with Brisbane band Lavish in the ’90s. He played bass for a stint in 2003 with Evan Dando but is probably best known for his work with The Pictures. Fronted by You Am I’s Davey Lane, The Pictures had a Triple J Feature Album for Pieces of Eight in 2005 and were freshly signed in the UK to Virgin-subsidiary Hut Records (The Verve, The Auteurs, David Gray etc) when the label collapsed on them.
Following The Pictures’ split (and of course they have regrouped sporadically and have been working on new music of late) Luke released a couple of albums with his own band The Deserters, and became involved with The Ronson Hangup, alongside The Anyone’s Steve Pinkerton and Church/Paul Kelly, RocKwiz/Even guitarist Ashley Naylor. The Ronson’s recently released their second album (and first in over a decade) entitled Centaurus to much acclaim.
Since 2014, Luke has also been working as Central Rain, an ongoing vehicle for his own songwriting and singing. Central Rain debuted in 2015 with the lush pop of the Flying Information EP and followed that up in 2017 with an album Kick The Moon which took a rawer and rockier approach. For the forthcoming album Luke has changed approach again, crafting an album that is intimate and affecting. Paint Over Paint was recorded by producer Robert Muiños at his Rat Shack studios in Collingwood (situated above The Gem Hotel, where Luke is the chef!), with instrumental assistance from drummer Jess Ellwood (Alex Lahey), and keyboard player Olaf Scott (Teskey Brothers) with the occasional contribution from Ronson bandmate Ashley Naylor on guitar.
