Native Roses

“You say I’m wasting my time”

That is what they sing but…

Native Roses have created a track that is a waste of nobodies time. An eclectic mix of fast paced guitar, cheery vocals and some lovely hooks as well as some well placed female backing vocals (from Birdy no less!) this a track that has it all…including a harmonica.

A real treat give it a listen, from the fast pace to the slower rhythmic parts its a fairly odd but entrancing song. Deserves a good listen. - Red Rose Music Lancs

SINGLE: NATIVE ROSES •
Colours (Creek Records)
A troupe of young bohemians, Native Roses’ debut release is the culmination of several tentative arrangements of the same loose circle of friends and housemates. Their trademark close-knit vocal harmonies come over like a family band singing on the porch at sunset – in equal parts mournful Appalachian ballad (the girls) and rugged British rock’n'roll (the boys). This familial closeness is tipped off by the central refrain; “we’ll all just fall into each others arms” – the theme song for a band of 21st century folk minstrels. (MB) - The Brighton Source

We fear we could lose readers by admitting the following guilty pleasure. It’s a secret we harbour most privately, for the shame bears down heavy upon our shoulders, as it’s weight is like carrying a cross through the desert sands. However, we feel that today’s post is an appropriate time to reveal this most clouded of hidden delights, as it leads us to the aesthetic shared by today’s recommendation. You would never guess it from knowing us, but, gulp, we have a secret adoration of the tune Wicked Game, by Chris Isaak. There. We. Said. It. We know it’s as wet as a blanket on The Titanic, but it’s also utterly gorgeous and it manages to tug at our heartstrings as if they were played like a beaten up guitar.

You see, we can’t help it. It’s an emotional thing. It generates a response so deep within us that all control is relinquished. Well, the same thing happened when we first heard the Brighton quartet Native Roses. They deliver a similar brand of mature, Americanised song craft. The cousin of the band’s drummer is a friend of ours and he introduced us to the man with the sticks, Moses Bogard – a name that was surely born to have a career in music if ever we heard one – at a recent Clock Opera gig. Moses formerly performed with another excellent local band who’s feet are firmly placed in the rural roots of the US, Holy Vessels. He’s now committing his energy to Native Roses and beyond the initial single and EP that quietly arrived earlier this year we see a future that should be in the ascent throughout 2012.

This new band were formed from the members of Modern Fighting Vehicles, a name that clearly didn’t marry quite as well with their sound as the moniker Native Roses does. Having got together at school, they’ve played together for many years, and it shows, as they now produce charming, beautifully-crafted songs. Their ranks swell in numbers when joined by Moses’ sister, Jasmine, and Jessica Illsley on vocals. It seems that their obvious talents have slightly turned against them, when the major label, Atlantic Records, signed up Jasmine as a solo artist – now known as Birdy – and subsequently asked her to cease recording with Native Roses. Thankfully the band had already bagged an EP with her remarkable vocals. When you get them all playing together you are hit with a multi-layered burst that’s over-flowing with talent and energy.

Their progress from track to track seems tangible as we see a group in transition from DIY band to fully-produced recording artists. Now releasing through Creek Records and working with the critically acclaimed engineer, producer and former member of Roxy Music, Guy Fletcher, we see the horizons burning brightly for the team. The debut single, Colours, arrived in July of this year and acts as the perfect introduction to their Americana. The male and female vocals pair up like oil paint blurring on a canvass. It’s warm, glowing in fact, and breathes so lightly that it feels like sleeping outside on a summer’s day. The usual Americana subjects are on show, talking of love as they “fall into each other’s arms“. It has the kind of chemistry and authentic adoration we’ve seen arrive this year from The Civil Wars intoxicating romance.

The rest of the EP slides along like a bottleneck, with a wonderfully lazy pace on tracks such as Jungle Moon Ballad, whilst Out Of The Water sounds like it’s being played in an open-sided carriage on an old desert train as it whizzes past you. The next EP is scheduled for February. Country & Western is an incorrect genre to place upon them, as they never reach those tacky, sickly levels of schmaltz. However, some minor, slight negatives you could place on music this perfectly formed is the occasional over-familiar lyrics, with lines about “dreamboats” and “headstones“, but overall the poetic license paints cinematic pictures from the heart. The only other gripe is that they’re from the South coast of the UK, instead of this music’s natural home of Nashville – unlike The Civil Wars – but what can they do about that? They don’t lose many points though, as their music is still packed with integrity and talent. We’re also not pertaining to be experts on this style and genre – they should consider that getting onto the electronic pop and indie-soaked pages of The Recommender as a true sign of their strength and quality if nothing else – after all what do we know, we admitted to liking Americana pulp like Wicked Games! (MB)
- The Recommender