Rhye’s latest single, “Black Rain,” lights the fuse with a funky, four-on-the-floor beat that’s guaranteed to get your head bopping. But it’s not until the unmistakable vintage sound of 70s disco strings, which sets off the track, that you stand up and dance. As the song catches fire, lead singer and musician Mike Milosh’s signature falsetto kicks in, and Rhye’s unique mellow, electronic R&B sound is immediately discernible. “Black Rain” will undoubtedly satisfy any Rhye fan, and yet, despite its familiar sound it feels incredibly fresh, brighter and unlike anything they’ve released so far. Milosh’s silk-smooth voice over flavors of strings and synth are everything you expect from a Rhye song, but this track hits a little harder, sounds a little louder and should get any fan excited for what’s to come. “Black Rain” is the third of three singles released this year and it seems like Milosh has something very different in store for us on Rhye’s upcoming new album, Home, which comes out January 22. What began as an enigmatic collaboration between Danish producer Robin Hannibal and Canadian artist Milosh, has slowly evolved from the dark, sensual and minimalist albums Woman and Blood, to the quiet, piano-based release, Spirit, to this glistening new single. There’s a distinct sonic shift here, a shift that is perhaps reminiscent of The xx’s night-to-day switch on I See You. Maybe a darkness has in fact been lifted for Rhye. At the time I write this, as current events unfold, it certainly feels like a darkness has been lifted for all of us. Photo by Emma Marie Jenkinson.