Channeling the darker corners of country and Americana music, Del Roscoe is stepping into the ring with a debut self-titled LP more somber and haunting than your average country record.
A southern gothic band from Atlanta, Georgia, Del Roscoe brings the campfire horror story back into today’s country music scene. Making a strong first impression, Del Roscoe intrigues listeners with their single “Black Hats” to display their gothic off-kilter roots.
Opening with the whining voice of an accordion, this song would sit comfortably in the dark forests of Louisiana. A song about the legend of the man in the black hat, vocalist Robert Lee paints a haunting portrait with lyrics such as “His bony white finger is pointing at you / He’s telling his story that everyone’s doomed.” The song’s creepy declarations lead into a chilling bridge making use of ghostly, multi-layered vocal harmonies.
Del Roscoe continues to soak the listener in a gothic atmosphere with the very next track, “Red Desert”.
Sung entirely in French, this song appears as if a wandering band of travelers were merely passing by and repeating it. It features an alternative vocalist, Yanaëlle Cornez, who delivers the song in a kind of slowly rocking stupor. The reverberating mandolin melodies combine to create a real sense of isolation for the listener. This is country music that is aware of its setting and aims to transport the listener to it, and sports some excellent arrangements along the way.
Another highlight is “Westward”, a song that features even more than all six official members, each bringing a different kind of instrumentation to the table.
The song has it all: from soaring key solos to little touches of steel guitar. The song’s backbone is the rocking baseline from bassist Paul Abrelat. Abrelat was diagnosed with terminal cancer during the record’s production, but he succeeded in recording all his parts before his passing. The record is in tribute to him, an especially powerful fact considering how the quality and variety of the performances wouldn’t have been possible without each band member.
Del Roscoe’s debut is also an exploration of what it means to cling on to sorrow. The song “Ready For It All To End” is a study of someone who has given up on their life’s direction. Pure defeatism is evident in lines such as “It’s obsolete but so are you / Cuz I’m ready, I’m ready for it all to end.” These themes fit the album well, pairing with the gothic horror to create an LP for those with a taste for sorrow in their country music.
Debuting with a darker presentation than many country bands, Del Roscoe is perfectly comfortable staying in folk’s gloomier corners. Though they’ve experienced serious grief and articulate people in moments of pity, they are singing “Westward we roam,” carving their own path in the universe of country music.
