Written by Shea Roney | Photo Courtesy of Jake Barczak

Back in May, Jake Barczak released Rainbow Autel, a record built on “reckless infatuation” and a knack for sound melodies. For as minimal as they are, the subtlety of these songs does not get lost in the weeds. Strikingly different when compared to Barczak’s other project, Bullseye, Rainbow Autel comes off the heels of their self-titled debut LP. exchanging the jangly guitars and robust dynamics that have made a name for the New York-based band, Barczak now plays from the marrow of each song, the simple and worn in, knowing how far to lean back in the old porch chair before it’s too late.

They say history is always written by the winners; but who can even afford the materials these days? Rainbow Autel is easy to identify. Its range of love, loss, and bind to American exceptionalism comes nicely with the wooly instrumentations of robust acoustic guitars and jangled banjo. But whether it’s in the withering heartland orchestral of “The Living Body”, the epic tell-tale of neglected service on “Jackie”, or the lost infatuation of “Look At My Tongue Now”, it’s an album written for the losers of the everyday. For our relentless epiphanies. 

We recently got to chat with Barczak about the project, storytelling, and the Midwest.

You recently released a solo record, Rainbow Autel, which notably follows the debut LP from your other band Bullseye. Where do these songs fit in the timeline of these two projects?

As a whole, the songs on the solo record are a lot more recent–the Bullseye stuff has songs on it that are as old as 2020. Rainbow Autel is all from the past two years.

Leaning a shoulder into classic folk structures and stripped back production, what made these songs discernible to this project compared to anything you were writing for Bullseye?

Probably the most obvious distinction during the songwriting process is that all the RA stuff was written on an acoustic guitar… Also I think in the last couple years I’ve been (re)-listening to a lot of folky acoustically-oriented stuff so that played a role too. Some of the songs are fingerpicked/have travis picking… so for those it was never really a question of whether Bullseye could play ‘em, I feel they were only suited for the solo set-up. I think it’s definitely related to writing with an acoustic guitar in hand, as opposed to an electric, even one that’s not plugged in… but the vocal stuff that came out seemed further away from rock music than the direction Bullseye has taken, so that made it feel further appropriate to make it its own thing ya know.

“Relentless Epiphanies”; what inspirations influenced Rainbow Autel? What stories lent themselves to these songs? Were any unpredictable in the grand scheme of these songs? 

Hmm.. that phrase is some nonsense (meaningful to me lol) that I jotted down a while ago–like the burden of meaningful realizations is funny as a burden. I suppose that’s growth. But sometimes it’s like comically concentrated, ya know. The stories that lent themselves to the songs were largely pretty classic I guess– some important periods of love, travel. And in some cases digging a little deeper (?) or maybe older… and recalling some existential/loss questions in my life and vicariously through others’. I think “Jackie” was slightly unpredictable. I did not expect to write that song, and it came out in sort of a flash. Haha people keep clocking one of the very direct influences on that song… it’s certainly clockable 😉

You lead with a poem on the album’s bandcamp page, ending with the line “You have a power”. Where do those thoughts of surrender and infatuation feel most consequential in your life? Has it always been obvious? 

Man, I guess I’ve learned in my life thus far that there’s quite a lot of relinquishing, and yeah, surrender that ought to go into a relation between people. I think perhaps when we’re younger, or maybe just my neurotic ass, there’s blindness or ignorance around the type of interpersonal peace this can afford– just letting it/them be. Uh… I guess “you have a power” resonates to me now in this way. I’d say it hasn’t always been obviously this type of surrender. I suppose that an earlier version of this would be feeling like you’re at the mercy of love or some other relationship haha. But that shifts to a more… yeah maybe like reckless infatuation -> peaceful surrender actually. TMI!

Now based in New York, you came from Minneapolis. Do you still have a kinship to the Midwest? Does it at all have an influence on what you create or the stories you tell?

Yeah I love the midwest. I’ve been reconnecting with friends in Minneapolis recently and making a lot of new ones in the broader Midwest. I definitely feel a strong connection to all these folks. And yeah… I think, famously, there’s a certain sort of humility and kindness that’s midwestern. I don’t know if it shows up in my songs, but I’d like to think they have a bit of that in them. Or at least that I do lol. There’s also the Dylan thing of course, though he like eschewed his Minnesotanhood or whatever… That said acoustic guitar music broadly speaking to me feels super at home in the Midwest. I’m actually working on a song right now for a second solo tape, hopefully out later this year, that’s a pretty blathering ode to the midwest (also coded as a love song, of course). Hah it’s silly, but I try to be more lenient with my silly tendencies these days.

Listen to Rainbow Autel out now as well as snag it on cassette.