Posted on: March 1, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Rose of Jericho – These City Lights / 2008 Self / 9 Tracks / http://www.roseofjericho.com /

The Rose of Jericho is a plant that is found in the Middle East; imagine a tumbleweed that can come back to life a number of times. The band Rose of Jericho is a band that has been around since 2002; 2003 saw their debut album, “Applause of Wings”, released. “These City Lights” originally started out as a song on “Applause of Wings”, but gradually grew into the band’s sophomore release. Despite the fact that less than two years passed between the release dates of “Applause of Wings” and “These City Lights”, Rose of Jericho are able to make two distinct albums, each of which covers a different facet of the band’s diverse sound.

“Buried Cold” is a track that ties together the emo of acts like At The Drive-In with the emotive female vocals present in an Evanescence. The swirling guitar eddies that are present at all points of “Buried Cold” provide a perfect counterpoint to the vocals; what results is something that is musically impressive while still very approachable, even to those listeners that have not heard anything more challenging than Kelly Clarkson. The guitars calm down for the introduction to the next track on “These City Lights”, “Take Me Away”. This allows individuals to get a good sense of the ability that Andrea brings to each and every track on “These City Lights”. While the guitars crank up the distortion soon after, individuals can get a sense of what exactly the vocals contribute to the overall sound of Rose of Jericho. The instrumental progression that starts off “Under The Picture Frame” is only one of many impressive things about the track.

“Under The Picture Frame” continues to have a catchy sound present, but individuals will have to listen to the track a number of times before picking up everything that Rose of Jericho has to say during the track. “Wrong Side of the Sky” clears all the distortion and intricate arrangements away to come at listeners in a completely new way. Little more than drums and a piano are a present during the early measures of the track, while Andrea’s vocals rise and fall calmly over the framework that the band has created. The emotion and intensity that the band inserts into the later part of the track provides a perfect chiaroscuro between the lighter (in sound and tone) and darker/heavier sides of the band. Pick this album up.

Top Tracks: Little Known Truth, Take Me Away

Rating: 7.4/10

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