Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard-the Rosebuds- met in college in NC, got married and released their first record Make Out in 2003. It is the chemistry between these two that construct the exclusive sound of their new album Life Like. They are able to capture undeniable energy and sprit in their music all the while interlacing shoe gaze, upbeat and acoustic all in one.
Opening track Life Like starts out with dragging guitars and an elementary drum beat. Howards relentlessly croons out words of being a beast that’s held captive in his own life and feeling like an outsider “Well oh well, the pines are getting to me/ consider my life/I'm wild but I'm not free’.
Crisp takes stage in the following track Cape Fear and conjures the signature early 90’s sound. She sings kooky lyrics like ‘Heard another catfish ate a man/They got a search team going in/Shaky shaky shake all right’.
The desperation in Border Guards is engrained in every note of Howard’s voice. Filled with a quick tempo and plenty of synth, this beautifully sad and relives a love story between a man and an immigrant worker who was whisked away to a find a better life. The desperation in Border Guard is engrained in every note of Howard’s voice where he sings ‘I hear the stars talking from the tin roof of my home/ I wonder where you are, are you out there all alone?/ Goddamn the border guards’.
Radio released track Bow To The Middle is guaranteed to get you going. Crisp begins the song by belting out the chorus and poppy beat followed by a lazily sung 2 line verse by Howard about how the devils can fool you..‘When the devil came down here, he sang so good/And his voice was too sincere to be untrue’.
The album slows down a bit towards the end but not for a second loses the listeners interest. Life Like is timeless and The Rosebuds are bound to keep building their fan base.
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