Raynes Searched for Greatness — and Found Their New Single 'American Waters': 'We Always Knew It Was Good' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

There was a time when “American Waters” was a song called “Cracks in the Ceiling” — and the pop/folk band Raynes assumed that it would never see the light of day.

“It was a little bit different than what we were working on,” explains Raynes’ co-founding member Mat Charley, 34, during an interview with PEOPLE about the track. “At the time back in 2016, [Raynes’ co-founding member] Joe and I were just trying to start a band, but we hadn’t even met [Raynes’ lead singer] Mark yet.”

But as the British-American trio came together to begin work on their upcoming EP'49,the group started to realize that the time had come for the song that they had held firmly on the back burner to finally come to life.

There was just one problem.

“I hated the lyrics,” admits Charley, laughing. “At that point, the song had dummy lyrics until we found the right words. And so, I changed it to ‘American Waters,’ and then it became the lyrical centerpiece of the entire EP. I really think it sets the stage for the feeling of the whole thing.”

Raynes' American Waters.Shane Balkowitsch

Shane Balkowitsch

And while Raynes’ new EP won’t be released until November, the finished version of “American Waters” is now here, with the song and the music video filmed entirely on Super 8 film premiering exclusively on PEOPLE.

“I think it’s actually the oldest song we’ve ever released,” explains Charley. “We always knew it was good.”

“Mark came from England and abandoned everything to do this with us,” says Charley. “Joe and I moved as well, and we all ended up in Los Angeles.”

But back then, the music coming from Raynes sounded a whole lot different than what fans will discover when they listen to “American Waters.”

“We wanted to introduce ourselves to the world with the songs that we put out at the beginning,” Race, 28, tells PEOPLE from his home in England about Raynes’ early work which included singles “Lemon Drop,” “Come My Way” and “Second Thought." “I think we wanted to come out of the box the way we did.”

Raynes.Shane Balkowitsch

But now, they are ready for something different.

“There’s a maturity about this EP,” adds Race, who is currently touring with his Raynes’ bandmates, opening for the likes ofRingo Starr& His All-Starr Band. “It feels like the most complete thing that we’ve ever done. There was definitely pieces of the puzzle that were missing, whether it be performance stuff or just maturity in ourselves. We’ve grown up together, and now we’re at a point where we are really hopeful for what’s to come, which is hopefully very big things.”

“Ironically, it is the most mature thing we’ve ever done,” adds Berger, 31, to PEOPLE about the forthcoming EP. “What you’re getting with the EP and this new single is the genesis of Raynes… thetruegenesis.”

And while “American Waters” will soon sit seamlessly within the track list that makes up‘49,the band realizes that some may take it in in a whole new way, especially as the country readies itself for the upcoming presidential election.

“I don’t want to tell people what things are about,” explains Charley. “Part of the journey is deciding how a song speaks to you. I will say that [politics] wasn’t top of mind for me when writing the lyrics, but it’s those types of lenses through which you can read a song that are so cool.”

source: people.com