I’m a bit worn down after a long week, and music is just the thing to perk me up. But who am I kidding – I was going to listen to music anyway.
Disc 1864 is…A Pawn Surrender
Artist: Rose Hotel
Year of Release: 2024
What’s up with the Cover? A lady in red has a sit in an immense room, presumably temporarily exhausted by her explorations. This picture evokes a Gothic adventure story of some young miss wandering alone through a vast (and possibly haunted) castle.
If it is a 19th century Gothic story, there is a good chance she’s going to get attacked by a vampire or experimented on by a mad scientist. Those 19th century writers did murder and mayhem right.
If it is an 18th century Gothic story it is probably just her kindly uncle’s mansion, and her fearful thoughts of being ravaged or murdered, or set upon by spirits are just fanciful notions dispelled the moment her uncle reveals himself, and says he’s only been following her because some of the rooms have loose roof beams and he was concerned for her safety.
18th century Gothic novels often disappoint in this way. Except Lewis’, “The Monk”. That one is chock full of rape, murder, and even Lucifer himself dragging people to hell (mostly for the crimes noted). Recommend!
But I digress…
How I Came To Know It: I read a review at Paste Magazine, gave it a listen and, well, here we are.
How It Stacks Up: This is my only Rose Hotel album, so it can’t stack up.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
Jordan Reynolds (aka Rose Hotel) is an indie pop artist who alters between lilting and thoughtful pop songs with a bit of jump (like) and a jazz soup of atmospheric ambience (do not like). She does more of the former than the latter, making this record overall a solid listen.
Reynolds doesn’t have powerhouse vocals, but she has strong instincts for phrasing and writes songs that lean into the best parts of her range. In her high and airy head voice she sounds a bit like Marissa Nadler, and when she’s down lower and pushing the pop side of her sound more like Samia.
At this point I may have irritated you by describing an obscure artist you may not know with comparisons to two other obscure artists you may not know. Admittedly, a hipster douchebag move if ever there was one. Or perhaps you could take it as a sign you should also be checking out Marissa Nadler and Samia, on account of them both being awesome. You’re welcome!
“A Pawn Surrender” begins with the sexy urgency of “Falling In Love Again and Again”. This song doesn’t grab at you so much as confidently lean in and plant a soft but insistent kiss on the lips. It has a bit of the soupy production I don’t like on some other tunes on the record but it works here and is a good aperitif for all the various approaches Reynolds will be taking the rest of the way.
After that we get the droning and directionless “Fruit Tree”. I admit, on my first listen this concerned me, but it turns out that while it is a misstep, it is a rare one. If I were the Soulless Record Exec helping order the tunes for the record, I think this one is more of a “late in side two” situation.
From there things pick up again quickly, “Drown” and “Not Like That” both recover the energy we started with before we get the record’s best effort, “King and a Pawn”.
Featuring allusions to the album title in the chorus, “King and a Pawn” serves as a powerful anchor in the middle of your listening experience. A song that takes a collapsing relationship and compares it to a played-out chess match, with a chorus suitable for enthusiasts of relationship drama and chess alike:
“All we got left
Is a king and a pawn
We’re caught in a stalemate and baby that’s just what’s wrong
Cornering each other, avoiding every move
Refusing to surrender
Even when it’s the best we could do”
Is it followed by more soupy ambience in the soporific “Pushing Me”? Sadly yes, but again, the not-great is over quickly and replaced with a solid run to the end of the record.
The unevenness of “A Pawn Surrender” held me back from giving it four stars, but overall this is still a good one. It has a thoughtful yearning throughout and demonstrates Jordan Reynolds’ talent for capturing the mysteries of the human heart with grace and subtlety.
Best tracks: Fall In Love Again and Again, Drown, Not Like That, King and a Pawn, On Your Side
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