Will Rainier - Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em (2025)

Without wishing to venture into the dodgy world of American stereotyping, particularly at this moment in its history, it may be fair to say that hanging around in bars is a popular pastime for many. Seattle-based Will Rainier happily adds himself to that number, but for him, a long-established singer-songwriter well known in his locale, this labour of love is also homework —a source of inspiration for his music.

For his third solo album, “Smoke ‘Em If You Got ’Em”, Rainier taps into this bottomless well of human existence to write about these strange and (sometimes) wonderful creatures. Some are real, others imagined, but Rainier paints these pictures with a sympathetic gaze accompanied by a dizzying range of instrumental accompaniment, most of which he plays himself. On an album with twelve songs coming in at a little over 33 minutes, a number of these songs appear as little more than brief vignettes. At their best, these tracks almost feel like tasters and leave the listener frustrated at their brevity. ‘Shapes In The Clouds’ is a terrific piece of work, with twang and trumpet, it oozes class, but, at just about two minutes, it feels like a missed opportunity to deliver something truly memorable, especially when the music is as good as this.

Rainier has a vocal style steeped in country, and while he emphatically states that his is his own unique blending of genres and sounds, Rainier is also very open about the attraction of the sadness inherent in country music. So, for every ‘Dance With The Dead’, a breezy country rock song very much in the territory of The Byrds or Sweetheart Of The Rodeo, there is a ‘Last Call’, a slow, meandering ballad with minimal backing from guitar and organ. Rainier switches pace and style throughout, and, if ‘Last Call’ had echoes of Neil Young, then the marvellous storytelling that is ’I’ll Show You What Too Much To Drink Looks Like’ is very much in the territory of The Mavericks at their peak. The mariachi-style trumpet backing is perfect for this up-tempo cautionary tale of internet dating and the very real dangers of suggesting that your date may have had “enough already”.

As well as hanging around in bars looking for fuel for his undoubtedly talented writing, Rainier admits to enjoying to throw the odd curve ball by way of the inclusion of an unexpected cover or two. ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)’ has been reinvented here into a country ballad and is so far removed from Whitney Houston’s classic original as to render comparisons pointless, as they may well have come from different planets, which, musically, in effect, they have.

“Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em” is an album of contrasts and identifies Rainier as both a talented wordsmith and hugely accomplished musician.