Roswell Road hit the road running with their first full length release, Rebel Joy. Their dynamic musicianship combines and shines as they present, to listeners old and new, a relatable, relevant and personal album.
REBEL JOY
Rebel Joy is the debut LP for singer-songwriter duo Jasmine Watkiss and Zoe Wren; a duo that met by chance at a busy market square in Cambridgeshire. Whilst by chance…it feels as if it was fate that was meant to bring them together, as this release highlights an electric chemistry and partnership that feels destined to make music together.
This is something that is very much evident from the get-go, with Holy Mountain opening and letting you all know that this album? This album is going to feature brilliant harmonies, and two voices that work very well together. Uptempo too, this song feels wonderfully timed as the weather starts picking up, part of your soundtrack to a road trip on a sunny day – perfectly apt, as this song takes inspiration from Wren’s parents’ travels.
COMPLETELY RELATABLE
There’s an honesty to their songs, and they’re songs that cover a wide range of themes. There’s probably a little bit of something that everyone can relate to. This much is evident on Weirdo at the Party, a song about attending such a social event and not feeling like you belong there – or, more bluntly, hating every second of it…haven’t we all been there before? This track starts with some gentle guitar picking, and slowly but steadily picks up pace, culminating in a rocking number, highlighting the duo’s versatility.
Versatility is, I think, one of Roswell Road’s strengths. Americana is definitely a genre description for the duo, but they’re more than that. Americana, country, country-pop, a little rock at times…they aren’t just one thing, nor are their songs, yet the album still feels wonderfully cohesive all the same. Island Citizen is a thoughtful, yet gently scathing, political critique told through the lens of a person attending the sort of protest/rally that’s becoming increasingly commonplace in the duo’s home country as of late. Relevant and particularly poignant.
EMPOWERING HARMONIES
More poignancy is present in Out of the Dark. Particularly personal poignancy for one half of the duo, a duo that anxiety very nearly brought an abrupt end to. ‘I took myself off to therapy and booked some singing lessons, and after a lot of work on myself, wrote Out of the Dark,’ Watkiss shared about the song. ‘I wanted this song to chart my recovery and the work that is required to live with anxiety. I also wanted to normalise vulnerability and talk about the toll that being a musician can take on your mental health.’
Guitars and strong vocals lead us on this journey of overcoming crippling anxiety, filled with striking imagery. Anxiety is oftentimes hard to describe, never mind nail. Roswell Road manage it on this track with lyrics like ‘where my stomach used to be, there’s a helium balloon and my head feels like a hornets’ nest in June’. Beautifully written, a song that can inspire.
Can’t Take My Soul, in a sense, continues that sense of empowerment, telling of the struggles that women face, both in the music industry and in the wider world. It’s a song about taking a stand, staying strong and staying your path. ‘I won’t change, I won’t crumble because I like myself the way I am’, harks the song and, really, it does feel like a triumph. It’s taken Roswell Road a number of years to get to this moment and release this body of work – now, they do so emphatically.
KICKSTARTING THINGS WELL
Funded by fans through a Kickstarter campaign – a campaign in which they absolutely smashed their initial target in less than a day – this is an album very much for their fans…and pretty much anyone out there who gives it a listen. Whether enticed by wonderful harmonies; smart songwriting; or simply a song that makes you think ‘huh, this is me’, then this album will surely have something for you. Much like the opening track, this album feels like the start of an exciting journey. It’s one that will surely propel the duo far in their craft. Rebel Joy is out now, ahead of a UK album release tour over the next few months – don’t be a rebel, give it a listen!
Roswell Road: Website