Stolen From the Radio 03/26: The Rose West

I recently started producing a radio show on CJLO (1690AM) called Edge of the City. It’s on every Monday from Noon to 2PM. You know what’s great about having access to a college radio station? I get to raid their library. Know what that means? It means that every Monday, I’m going to grab 3 random albums from the station, listen to them, and feature the best one here. Enjoy!

This week, I snatched up something that’s a bit more on the progressive side of things. Think Coheed & Cambria, Human Abstract, maybe a hint of Mars Volta. These are the obvious influences of New York’s The Rose West, who have just released their debut album “When the Road Darkens” independently. The album ranges in rhythm and style, producing songs as varied as “Jurazian War Machine”, a symphony-backed high-energy battle tale, and “Lysmythe”, a lengthy ballad with intermittent instrumental breaks. Overall, it’s a pretty solid first effort for this band, though I wish they stopped trying to sound like C&C so much and tried to find their own voice. Of course, with vocals like Robare Pruyn’s, that’s the logical direction to head in, but these guys just might have the capacity to break out of that mold. Anyhow, here’s the record, streaming in its entirety from Bandcamp. I suggest tracks #2 (Endless Hope) and #4 (Feria Cinerum), but feel free to browse through the whole thing.

Cheers!

-Al

P.S.: Track #5 on the record is named “Danse Du La Veuve Noir”, which is grammatically incorrect in French, which drives me nuts. If you’re gonna name your song in a different language, at least do it right! “Danse de la Veuve Noire” would’ve been the way to do it.