3 minute read
Rossi......................”Hey Rosetta!”
HEY ROSETTA! SECOND SIGHT: THOUGHTS+SCORE
by Lucas Rossi
Advertisement
In the early 2000s Canada was a goldmine for fans of alternative music, spawning giants in several genres; most notably underground favorites post-rock (GY!BE) and indie rock (Arcade Fire). Hey Rosetta!, a smaller Canadian project in that vein, play that celebrated, prototypical brand of indie rock, unabashedly earnest and decidedly serious, that when done well spawns genre classics (records by Arcade Fire, Frightened Rabbit. and the like) and when done poorly fully embraces the descriptor “vanilla,” making all other indie music look bad by association. Hey Rosetta!, fortunately, lean toward the former and have built a career in the genre that culminated in 2011 with a borderline genre classic, Seeds. The band differentiate themselves from the other great acts that came before them with a few stylistic choices, most notably a clean, radio-friendly sheen and a measure of orchestrated bombast and fourish (incorporating lots of piano/horns/strings/ etc), almost like if Coldplay made indie music (well, if Coldplay made indie music that was actually good). They sprinkle in a moderate amount of Paul Simon-esque worldbeat/ afrobeat/(whatever other culturally problematic and musically unhelpful label you want to use) elements that other indie bands have firted with to some success (Dracula Saturdaysunday). All these things came together perfectly on Seeds, one of the best indie rock albums ever (in my estimation) and an album that could have almost been a big mainstream hit.
Naturally, then, I was excited to hear this year’s follow-up, Second Sight. And I did hear it. A lot. I’ve listened through this record several times, after each time realizing I had hardly even heard anything in the course of its runtime. After just a few plays I could only really think of one thing to call the album: inoffensively pleasant. This isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, and I think the album deserves a bit more than that given that the band clearly made a solid effort. The instrumentation is technically sound and the songs are decently varied in terms of sound. Front man Tim Baker’s vocals are pretty on point as always: distinctive, emotive, and striking just the right balance between clean, controlled tenderness and bursting, unrestrained outpour. The band are doing what they’re good at, and they just know how to make enjoyable indie music.
Because all the requisite elements are there, SecondSight at least has some 100% guaranteed made-to-order indie rock jams. The “we-wrote-this-last-because-we-needed-a-pop-song” lead single “Kintsukuroi” (the Japanese practice of “fxing bowls by making them look hella cool,” or kintsugi, is evidently a theme of the album) is a catchy, buoyantly uplifting exercise in shimmering synths and shiny guitar lines, and is overall just a joy to listen to. “Neon Beyond” is probably one of the group’s best songs, pushing those Paul Simon rhythms and playful backing synths to their breaking point before exploding into glorious, headbanging climaxes of pure rock goodness (the drum flls are so tight). I still can’t quite put my fnger on why every track doesn’t succeed like these two do. Maybe it’s simple missteps in composition; there just aren’t enough compelling melodies. Maybe it’s the inclusion of a few too many moments of indulgent, samey indie nonsense. Maybe it’s the way the horns and strings sometimes fall too far away from the thrust of the sound. When they succeed you get other highlights like “Harriet,” which opens with bouncing-yet-weighty piano strokes and blossoms into a really cool and infectious interplay between lead guitar and orchestration over which Baker croons lines like “They don’t know you, not like I do,” words guaranteed to pull at the heart strings of anyone belting them out alone in their bedroom. When tracks stick out this much, however, you have to wonder what’s going on with the other things they’re sticking out from.
I can’t help but recommend this record in spite of my mild disappointment with the product as a whole. Great indie rock doesn’t come around as much as it used to, and you will get a decent amount of that here. Still, even if you like what you hear, you would probably be better served exploring the rest of their discography. Even the best tracks on this don’t rival emotional heavy-hitters like “Welcome” or “Yer Fall” from Seeds; the band can simply do better. Enjoy this release for what it is, but keep an eye on the band. They have so much potential to do even more.