The Rosewood Thieves

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Amazon

The Rosewood Thieves are a NYC band just pining for the simple things—a country house, a fire against the cold, etc. Their debut EP, From the Decker House, was recorded at this historic house without internet/phone/TV in upstate New York, and the simplicity’s charming enough, though it can breeze by without much of a lasting effect. The sound of the album is over-archingly amateur, with flat vocals and seemingly-untouched sound quality, and comes across as a more authentically bedroom-version of the White Stripes (on “Back Home to Harlem") or a cool/calm the Band (on “Cold in the Country"). “Los Angeles” is the best song, though, a cool-swung lo-fi ballad with a great chorus: “I got some friends in Adelaide, telling me to head out their way / Cos they know I’m in love with the sun”. The country-folk elements are heavier-painted, which fits with the band’s image: “Doctor” bubbles along with “Tangled Up in Blue“‘s poetry but a more obviously country vibe; “Lonesome Road” explodes out of its shell of melancholy farewell into a bouncing but still beautiful ballad. This band may be onto something here.

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