Chicago alt and blues rockers Rosetta West’s newest album, Labyrinth, takes listeners into a distinct world of its own, whisking them away into their gritty desert-rock orbit.
Rosetta West — who has been making music since the 90s — takes on the appeal of a genre-bent, cinematic rock sound that creates a distinct vibe from start to finish within the new 14-track album. The band consists of Joseph Demagore (guitar, vox), Jason X (bass, keyboards), and Nathan Q. Scratch (drums).
The opening track, “Red Rose Mary Bones,” reintroduces listeners to Demagore’s deep, raspy vocals, perfectly accompanied by a consuming, gritty electric guitar. “Red Rose Mary Bones / Come alive / Watcha doin tonight,” goes the song, drawing in listeners with the brooding, raw sound. The sophomore track, “The Temple,” plays with the range of the guitar, using twangy notes to contrast the band’s dark vocals. The song also takes on a Middle-Eastern-esque sound, an aspect Rosetta West plays with throughout the entire album.
Another standout track is the fifth track, “Blue Fog,” which introduces the blues aspect of Rosetta West’s music. The acoustic guitar makes a more significant appearance as the sound shifts to a down-tempo, sentimental and wholesome vibe. The ninth track, “Fly Away,” further explores their style of blues and rock, with a steady blues tempo and accompanying harmonica. “I’m taking my guitar / But baby you can have the rest,” goes the song, contributing to the album’s dark, mystic feel.
Rosetta West is known for their subtle mashing together of genres, combining classic rock, blues, world folk, and psychedelic sounds to build a distinct and flourishing world. This is evident in title track, “Labyrinth,” which takes on a rhythmic, even more folk-inspired sound, with the weaving vocals creating a fresh energy of danger and adventure. “Jennifer hitched a ride outside,” the band sings, beginning to tell the stories of several individuals, another folk aspect the band plays with.
The fourteenth and final track, “Superior,” takes us back to the more classic rock sound of the album’s beginning, with the pleading vocals and the rhythm of the guitar taking on a Deep Purple or Steppenwolf-style rock sound. “Girl / You sink down to the bone,” goes the track, maintaining their darker imagery even with a more up-tempo track.
Rosetta West has built a following around their distinct and cinematic sound for a while now, and prove they’ve still got the unwavering dedication to what drew them to music-making in the first place some years ago. With a number of independent releases under their belt, the band has not only long established their sound, but their creative and quirky visualizers too.
With such a heavy, varied sound and a willingness to change with the times, what the band will do next is anyone’s guess.
