Rainbow Kitten Surprise formed in Boone, North Carolina in 2013, mixing indie folk, indie rock, and alt-country behind Ela Melo's unmistakable vocals. How to: Friend, Love, Freefall (2018) is the breakthrough and the best starting point, with Love Hate Music Box (2024) the long-awaited return. Shop Rainbow Kitten Surprise vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise formed in Boone, North Carolina in 2013 around then-Appalachian State University students. The band's distinctive name was intended as unconventional. They signed with Elektra Records and built audiences through extensive touring across the late 2010s. Their 2018 album How to: Friend, Love, Freefall received critical attention. Lead singer Ela Melo (formerly known as Sam Melo) came out as transgender in 2022, with the band supporting her transition publicly. Their 2024 follow-up Love Hate Music Box was a creative return after extensive hiatus.
Rainbow Kitten Surprise's sound combines indie folk, indie rock, alternative rock, Americana, folk rock, indie pop, and alt-country with Melo's distinctive vocal delivery, intricate dual guitar arrangements, and lyrical content addressing relationships, identity, spirituality, and personal experience drawing on confessional songwriting traditions alongside contemporary indie folk influences.
Elektra Records pressings of the Rainbow Kitten Surprise catalog have been issued in multiple color variant editions and limited deluxe pressings.
Listeners new to Rainbow Kitten Surprise typically start with How to: Friend, Love, Freefall (2018) or Love Hate Music Box (2024).
