2019-07-01_Uncut_UK

JULY 2019 • UNCUT• 25

new albums

THEIRmotorsgently
purring,RoseCity
Bandarenicely
primedtosetouton
thehighway.While
theGermanautobahn
is synonymouswith
theprecisiongroovesofmotorik,nothing
indicatestheAmericandriverexperience
liketheshuffleandtheboogie– bothof
whichidiomsarespokenfluentlybythe
RCB.Morethanevenanaudience,this
is a bandwhooftenseemtobeinsearch
ofa roadmovie.
RoseCityBandarea newandmainly
anonymouscollectivefromPortland,
Oregon,andtheirmusicaltripis one
thatseemstohavestrongtiestoforward
propulsion.Theirdebutalbumis neither
longnorextravagant,butit putsvaluable
milesontheclockalonga highway
ofdustyboogie.It hasitseyesonthe
road,butenjoysthepossibilitiesofthe
landscape.Fellowtravellersalongtheway
mightincludeCreedence,CannedHeat
andeven,attimes,Hawkwind.
Detailsaboutthepersonnelinvolved
hereareminimal,butcluesaboutwhy
thisrecordsoundsthewayit doesmight
begleanedfromtheinvolvementofRipley
Johnson,whoplaysinSanFrancisco’s
WoodenShjipsandalsoaspartofMoon
Duo– twogroupswhoseentrancing
rhythmsgroundthemintheearthbut
whosesearchingandreverberatingguitar
excursionsseemtobetryingtopropel
themintospace.Johnsonhereservesas
“producerandinstigator”,butnoting
somemajorsimilaritiesbetweenthis
recordandtheseotherbands(the

stronggrooves,theunderstated

keyboards,theguitarexploration),you

mightstarttowonderif therewasa little

moretoit thanthat.

Whoevertheyare,theRoseCityBand

doa wonderfuljoboftravellingfar,but

withminimalexertion.Explicitgrooves

arrivelaterinthealbum,butthetoneof

therecord– unhurried,curious;indie-

rockmusicwitha nodtorockrecordsfrom

the1960sand1970s– is setbytheopener,

“RipCity”(like“RoseCity”a nodtothe

band’sstatedhometownofPortland,

Oregon).It’sa songwitha similarkind

ofdreamymomentumassomethinglike

Pavement’s“RangeLife”or,morerecently,

nearlyanythingfromthelovelyDays

albumbyRealEstate.

Thesearethekindsofmusicalspaces

wheresomethingmagicalis conjuredfrom

therepetitiverhythmsofthesuburban

andfamiliar.Asthesongplaysitselfout,

elegantleadguitarlinesandharmonica

createanentrancingandcontemplative

space.“WideRoll”,whichfollows,has

a fractionallymorerigid,motorik

groove,butis justasinviting.A degree

ofadditionalmysterycomescourtesyof

a Felt-like juxtaposition of introverted

vocal and crystalline guitar.

As much as this is an album where

motion is suggested, it’s also one that’s

able to take a rest stop. “Me And Willie”,

at seven-and-a-half minutes the longest

song here, is just that kind of experience.

Epic but effortless, a minimal groove

suggests contemplation of a vast space,

recalling the revelations in a parched and

rugged landscape offered some years ago

by Brightblack Morning Light. At this point

in the imaginary road movie soundtracked

by this record, our characters might

well consume drugs, and experience

significant insights.

However,foralltherevelationsthat

theRoseCityBandappeartohaveat

theirfingertips(atonepointa gongis

struck,andvocalsbecomeveryheavily

phased),theastraltravelofpsychedelic

experiencedoesn’tfeelliketheircurrent

mission.Whiletheyflirtwiththestars

onoccasion,theslideguitarand

Bakersfield-meets-BobDylanrhythms

thatunderpina numberlike“Rivers

OfMind”orthe12-bargroovesof

“WanderingFeeling”(a kindofbiodiesel

“SilverMachine”)suggestthattheband

aremorelikeChuckJaegerinTheRight

Stuff: readytopushthingstothelimit

thissideofthesky,buthappytohave

glimpsedthebeyondwithoutneeding

topushrightthrough.

Thedeeplyreverberatingsoundscape

allowstheleadguitartotakeflight

impressivelythroughouttherecordas

it doesonthefinesttrack,theseven-

minuteshuffle“FearSong”(a Galaxie 500

choogle),whichhastheheartbeatofthe

CannedHeatclassic“OnTheRoadAgain”,

whilethebandseemcontenttokeepsome

dustontheirboots.

“FogOfLove”closesouttherecordwith

a dreamyamble– whichis certainlya

destination,if notquitewhatyou’dcallan

end.Clearly,thisis a bandwhoknowthat

a tripisn’talwaysaboutthegettingthere.

Ultimately,it’smoreabouttheexperiential

qualityoftheride.

RipleyJohnson:

“Itexertsa primalsway”

whatledtotheformationoftheRose

Cityband?A bigpartofit waswanting

toexploremusicalinfluencesfromyouth,

whichmainlymeansmusicofourparents’

generation,andtodosomethingmellow

butexploratory.Somuchin theworldseems

crazyandunsettlingatthismomentin time;

therewasanimpulsetoembracemusicthat

is calmingandremindsusofchildhood,a time

ofinnocenceandoptimism.

whytheanonymity?It’sjustgeneral

frustrationwiththemusicbusiness,social

media,self-promotion,allofthat.Theway

everythingis packagedandsold.Wejust

wantedthealbumtostandonitsownand

begreeted(orignored)forwhatit is,asyou

woulddoif youjustfoundit in a stackofold

records.It’sa bitromantic,I know.

whatweresomeofyourinspirations

fortherecord?It hasa lovely,

unhurriedfeel...Primarilyprivate-

pressrockandcountryfromthe’60sand

’70s.There’ssomethingsoeasyabouta

recordthathasnopretensionsofbeing

commerciallyviable.It justis whatit is,rough

edgesandall.I’mprobablyprojectingontoa

lotoftheserecords,butI hearaninnocence

andeasethatI findveryappealing.More

specifically,recordsbyartistslikeRelatively

CleanRivers,KennyKnight,FJMcMahon,

MountainBus.

Howfardoestheexperienceof

themembersinfluencewhatwe’re

hearinghere?It’sprimarilyin thechildhood

musicalinfluences,passeddownfrom

parents– NeilYoung,theGratefulDead,Bob

Dylan,TheBand,Creedence,etc...It’sthefirst

musicthatreallymovedusandit exertsa

primalsway.INTERVIEW:JOHNROBINSON

SLEEVENOTES

1 RipCity

2 WideRoll

3 MeAndWillie

4 Wandering

Feeling

5 RiversOfMind

6 FearSong

7 FogOfLove

Producedby:

RipleyJohnson

andJason

Powers

Recordedat:

Portland,Oregon;

TypeFoundry

Studio,Oregon

(additional

production);

TheHive,North

Hollywood

(drums)

Personnel

includes:Ripley

Johnson(various

instruments),

JohnJeffrey

(drums)

Q&A

SARAH

ANDeRSON

ROSE CITY BAND

Rose City Band
JEAN SANDWICH

7/1 0

Easy riding: soundtrack to an imaginary

road movie. By John Robinson

Ripley Johnson:

recalling the

choogle and

boogie absorbed

in childhood