Rosedale, formed solely of singer Mike Liorti, has gained some serious success since his debut album ‘Real’ was released in 2012. Fast forward 4 years, through some impressive touring dedication and sharing a bill with the likes of New Found Glory, new self-titled release ‘Rosedale’ could easily win him some new fans.
‘Quicksand’ begins with Green Day-sounding guitars and vocals, quickly switching to the conversational tone used by Say Anything. The mish-mash of styles works surprising well to create a longing, unexpectedly different pop song and, with a cracking chorus and vocals that sound like Blink-182 had singing lessons, it’s the most interesting song on the album.
On that note, a tribute to the music of the early noughties, ‘Written By The Artist’ is a love song written for the music we all knew and loved that features on “I can’t believe this album is 10/15/20 years old” lists. It’s no secret where Liorti’s influences come from and jokes aside, it’s a catchy, upbeat, piano-driven hit. Side note: you must check out its video with odes to Blink, Panic! At The Disco and the aforementioned Green Day.
‘My First Show’ continues the nostalgia. A sickly sweet sound and strong American accent remind us of Myspace singer songwriters and carefully selecting the right deep and meaningful profile song to send a secret message to your crush. In an entirely different vein, ‘Grey’ is a galloping, pessimistic, rockier song, singer Mike Liorti mumbling about “another unresponsive day”.
There’s sentimentality in ‘To My Father’, speckled with recordings of what is presumably Liorti’s childhood, continuing in ‘Breakin Me Down’; this time with charging guitars and blistering pop punk leanings. Summing up the theme of the record, ‘A Kid Again’ looks at the relationship between what’s been and what is yet to come, bittersweet and melodic, with a middle-eight that makes a not-so-subtle reference to Blink-182 again. Someone’s definitely a fan.
The whole album reeks of nostalgia and looking back to the good – or not so good – old days. It’s a brilliant antidote to the notoriously difficult second album. Full of accessible, pop rock tracks and adorable retrospective references, it’s an old school treasure made for grown up millennials.
KATHRYN BLACK