Arrica Rose & The …’s: Let Alone Sea Review
Artist: Arrica Rose
Sometimes it takes a gimmick to get people in. On Arrica Rose’s 3rd full-length, Let Alone Sea, the closer is the gimmick. It starts as a slow, hazy cover of the Buggles’ “Video Killed The Radio Star” and then morphs suddenly and seamlessly into Louis Armstrong’s “What A Wonderful World” and back. A cleverly executed idea, but it’s not what the strengths of this record are about.
Arrica and her backing band The …’s (Dot Dot Dots) do a good job of fleshing things out with smatterings of lap steel, violin, and horns throughout the record, helping blend to a place somewhere between folk rock and dream pop. The opener, “Everybody,” is a folk-rock song that is the record’s most straightforward tune, opening things up to the wonderfully hazy Mazzy Star-esque dreaminess of “Sail Away.” Throughout the rest of the record, things bounce around, from the spy theme guitar of “We Made It Out Alright” to the New Orleans-styled horns of “Summer’s Gonna Burn Me (So Are You).” “When The Clouds Hang This Low” is another highlight, as a simple guitar-and-vocal ballad builds into a giant, climactic chorus of voices and violin. It closes 40 minutes later with the aforementioned cover song mashup.
Arrica Rose and the band have a lot going for themselves on Let Alone Sea. They don’t need any gimmicky cover songs or anything to distinguish themselves; the power of Rose’s voice with the band when they’re at their hazy best is all they need. Sometimes the record strays, but Let Alone Sea is a solid stepping stone for a band ready to make a bigger step.
-Adam
