published: 4 /
5 /
2015
Label:
Sub Pop
Format: CD
Posthumous second album from just disbanded Seattle-based sextet Rose Windows, which finds them shifting from their early psychedelic influences towards a melodic pop/folk sound
Review
This morning I was listening to the new Rose Windows album, I should have been taking notes for this review but was instead procrastinating on the internet when during the song ‘A Pleasure to Burn’ the band themselves posted a message onto Facebook announcing that they had split up. It was not a coy pre-emptive possibility; it came across as a full on and very final statement of fact.
“Rose Windows will no longer be moving forward. For the health of the band and the health of each individual member we have to let go. Although this might seem abrupt know that this does not come easy for any of us. We are all heart broken; we are all grieving.
So all I can say is what the fuck! This self-titled sophomore effort is far superior to 'The Sun Dog', their already outstanding debut, maybe diehard fans of the band’s early psyche sound may weep a little because they have shed the majority of their reverb pedals and ushered in a shiny palate of pop and folk hooks. Getting hold of this record though, you won’t have to dig too deep to be stunned by their progression. It’s glaringly obvious.
The key track here is ‘Glory, Glory’. It screams of a musical rebirth, classic rock blended with a pop swing and, dare I say it, a delicate splash of late 80’s college rock. To be honest this really isn’t too far removed from what a young Juliana Hatfield was cranking out on her ’95 opus ‘Only Everything’. Elsewhere when the band take their feet off the gas, gentle harmonies and intricate guitar fiddling like that on opener ‘Bodhi Song’ remind you of the band’s debut but the melodies are tighter and more thought out. Maybe this contributed to the break up, where could the band go from here without alienating their core fan base.
For now it’s just conjecture. I for one will miss them dearly.
Track Listing:-
1
Bodhi Song
2
Glory, Glory
3
Blind
4
Strip Mall Babylon
5
Come Get Us Again
6
The Old Crow
7
Aurora Avenue
8
A Pleasure To Burn
9
Harami
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/rosewindows
https://twitter.com/rosewindowsband
https://soundcloud.com/rose-windows
Label Links:-
https://www.subpop.com/
https://www.facebook.com/subpoprecords
https://plus.google.com/+subpop
https://twitter.com/subpop
http://subpop.tumblr.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/subpoprec