STORY / ANGIE PICCIRILLO
PHOTOS / MALLORY TURNER
Though the band RÓSA’s sonic vibes are super 80’s inspired, like any other band they were inspired by other rock n’roll legends. Some of their faves? The Doors and of course, Nirvana. You won’t hear any Lizard King tributes in their tunes though, since the songs from their new EP are seemingly more fit for a “Sixteen Candles” remake. If you’re down with Jack Antonoff’s “Bleachers” or Martin Johnson’s new project, “The Night Game,” RÓSA should be added to your playlist immediately.
The group says, “We love 80s sounds. We just enjoy it. I imagine that’s true of all artists: they make what they like.” One thing is for certain, in their new tunes there’s no shortage of vintage synths, reverb-y vocals and sweet throwback melodies.
Today, ahead of their EP release “The Taste of Another” out on February 23rd, we get a sneak peek of all the 80’s prom-anthem vibes you can handle with their tune, “Nightmare.” Vocalist Will Winters says the tune is “about the anxiety of entering a space that carried meaning for you during some previous time. It’s about the weight of loss that comes crashing down on you when something familiar, something that connects your present experience to your past, enters your field of perception. It’s a terrifying place to be.I was walking in the downtown area of my college town when I thought I saw an ex at a place where we once spent time, only to realize moments later that she had moved to New York months ago.”
Regardless of what vibe the tunes may give you, the band re-created some images of their fave icons as tribute to the things that made them the musicians they are today, and of course, in celebration of their new release happening next week. “We are very inspired by The Doors because they helped invent the very idea of a band. They were one of the first groups of guys to come together and write their own songs and be the masters of their own creative destiny,” Will says.
RÓSA re-creates An Elektra Records Publicity photo used by The Doors in 1966
“We also love Nirvana because of their rebellious spirit. They had to demand their space in the musical landscape. I know what we are doing is nowhere near what they did, but our personal histories and the religious/conservative culture we come from has made RÓSA our own little rebellion.”
RÓSA re-creates an iconic shot (minus Kurt Cobain’s White Circle sunglasses) of 90’s Grunge Rock band, Nirvana
As far as what’s next for the band? Will says, “I’m still writing about love, I can’t seem to escape it. The lyrical content of this EP is less embodied than the first two and encompasses an inner, and potentially less real, world.” RÓSA performs next week in Los Angeles at The Satellite on 2/23 in celebration of their EP release.
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