| Rain on Lens | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 18, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | May 2001 | |||
| Genre | Lo-fi | |||
| Length | 38:25 | |||
| Label | Drag City | |||
| Producer | Bill Callahan | |||
| Smog chronology | ||||
| ||||
Rain on Lens is the ninth studio album by Smog. It was released on September 17, 2001, in Europe by Domino Recording Company and a day later in North America by Drag City.
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 73/100 [1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Dotmusic | 4/5 [3] |
| Neumu |   [4] |
| NME | [5] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10 [6] |
| Playlouder |  [7] |
| RTÉ | [8] |
At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews. [1]
All tracks are written by Bill Callahan.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rain on Lens 1" | 1:27 |
| 2. | "Song" | 4:57 |
| 3. | "Natural Decline" | 4:18 |
| 4. | "Keep Some Steady Friends Around" | 4:28 |
| 5. | "Dirty Pants" | 4:31 |
| 6. | "Lazy Rain" | 5:27 |
| 7. | "Short Drive" | 3:27 |
| 8. | "Live as If Someone Is Always Watching You" | 4:05 |
| 9. | "Rain on Lens 2" | 1:31 |
| 10. | "Revanchism" | 4:08 |
Credits adapted from liner notes.
Bill Callahan is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who has also recorded and performed under the band name Smog. Callahan began working in the lo-fi genre, with home-made tape-albums recorded on four-track tape recorders. Later he began releasing albums with the label Drag City, to which he remains signed today. His work, in addition to lo-fi music, has encompassed apocalyptic folk and gothic country.
Evil Heat is the seventh studio album by Scottish rock band Primal Scream. It was first released on 5 August 2002 in the United Kingdom by Columbia Records and on 26 November 2002 in the United States by Epic Records. It peaked at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart. Musically, its style forms a link between two of the band's previous albums: the aggressive protest of XTRMNTR (2000), and the acid house psychedelia of Screamadelica (1991).
Knock Knock is the seventh studio album by Bill Callahan, released under his Smog alias. It was originally released through Drag City in January 1999. In Europe, it was released through Domino Recording Company.
Red Apple Falls is the sixth album by Smog, released in May 1997 on Drag City and re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino.
Wild Love is the fourth album by Bill Callahan, released on March 27, 1995, on Drag City and re-released in Europe on Domino in 2001. Jim O'Rourke appeared as cellist on this album, his first collaboration with Smog. Drag City's producer Rian Murphy helped to develop a wider musical palette than its predecessor Julius Caesar.
The Doctor Came at Dawn is the fifth album by Bill Callahan, released in 1996 on Drag City. It was re-released in Europe in 2001 by Domino. Callahan's occasional creative partner, Cynthia Dall, appears on the album.
Dongs of Sevotion is the eighth studio album by Smog. It was released on April 3, 2000 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and a day later in North America by Drag City. It peaked at number 28 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.
A River Ain't Too Much to Love is the eleventh studio album by Smog. It was released on May 30, 2005 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and in North America by Drag City. It is Bill Callahan's final studio album released under the Smog moniker.
Supper is the tenth studio album by Smog. It was released in 2003 in Europe by Domino Recording Company and in North America by Drag City.
Sewn to the Sky is an album by Smog, released in 1990 on Disaster Records. Most sources consider it to be Smog's first album, made after the release of several cassette-only recordings. It was re-released on Drag City in 1995. The experimental album combined home recording, substandard instruments and repetitive and noisy songwriting structures, and was an early example of the lo-fi genre.
Burning Kingdom is the second EP by Bill Callahan, released on Drag City in 1994 and later re-released in Europe on Domino. "My Shell" is an electric version of the 1991 single of the same name.
Woke on a Whaleheart is the first record released by Bill Callahan under his own name instead of his nom de plume Smog. It was released by Drag City on April 24, 2007, and released a week earlier in Callahan's home state of Texas. A single, "Diamond Dancer," preceded the release of the album on March 20, 2007.
William Edward Ryder-Jones is an English singer-songwriter, musician, music producer and composer from West Kirby, Merseyside. He co-founded the band The Coral, together with James Skelly, Lee Southall, Paul Duffy, and Ian Skelly, playing as their lead guitarist from 1996 until 2008. He has since pursued a solo career, writing both his own albums and film scores, as well as producing records for other artists and appearing as a session musician.
Cold House is the fifth studio album by English post-rock band Hood. It was released on Domino Recording Company on 12 November 2001. Three tracks feature vocal contributions from Doseone and Why?, two-thirds of the hip hop group Clouddead. "You Show No Emotion at All" was released as a single from the album.
Apocalypse is a studio album by Bill Callahan, released on April 5, 2011. It is the third studio album released under his own name, and fourteenth overall when including LPs released as Smog.
Dream River is the fifteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bill Callahan, released on September 17, 2013 on Drag City. Recorded by Erik Wofford, the album is Callahan's fourth to be released under his own name.
Traditional Techniques is a solo album by American musician Stephen Malkmus, the fourth album credited to Malkmus and the second to not feature his band The Jicks. It is the ninth project in Malkmus's career since Pavement disbanded, and the fourteenth album released in his career. It was released on March 6, 2020 by Matador Records and Domino Recording Company.
Gold Record is a studio album by American musician Bill Callahan, released on September 4, 2020 by independent record label Drag City. It is the seventh studio album released under his own name, and eighteenth overall when including studio albums released as Smog.
Way Down in the Rust Bucket is a live album and concert film from Canadian-American rock musician Neil Young and his band Crazy Horse, released on February 26, 2021. It is Volume 11.5 in the Performance Series of Neil Young Archives.
The Wide, Wide River is an album by the Scottish singer-songwriter James Yorkston, recorded in collaboration with the Swedish collective The Second Hand Orchestra. Produced by Yorkston and Karl-Jonas Winqvist, it was released by Domino Records in January 2021.
