The Rosebuds – Sand + Silence

Rating:

Whenever your album is produced by a big name in the indie rock world, let alone Justin Vernon, there’s going to be a great deal of attention drawn to you by this simple fact, and not by the catalogue you’ve already generated as a group that’s been around for 13 years now. I was impressed with Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard’s last effort on Loud Planes Fly Low and thus, regardless of big names, my expectations were high for Sand + Silence, but perhaps a bit too high.

When I heard a single for this album, “Blue Eyes,” I was pretty stoked to hear the rest of the album; it seemed like the band was stepping into this surf rock tinged version of their previous sound. Instead of garage rock as the base for the surfy jams, this track offered up a pop base for those surf rock guitars to move around in. It’s a downright jam; Ivan Howard’s vocals warble and soar, backed with Kelly Crisp’s arcing “ooh’s,” and the jangly guitars to make it a beach tune to throw on your latest mix.

However, when listening to the rest of this album, it’s hard to find this continual current, or even a continual current of enticing tunes. I find myself being pulled back to the music once every third track or so, getting interested in a track, only for the band to switch it up for the next song. There’s something be said about creating a collection of songs that are different but somehow work together in some fashion, but the tracks sprawl out far in different directions. That being said, I still really enjoyed “Looking For,” where you have the beach vibe returning in the guitar parts as well as the fading “ahhs.” On this song we also encounter Crisp’s small presence on this album via the form of her backing vocals. Here, some of the enticement of infectious pop tunes that The Rosebuds started to reinvent on their past album.

While there are some nice tracks on Sand + Silence, I really am missing some vital cohesiveness that would make this album go from good to grand. The beginning of the album feels a bit lost and muddy, and while the ending starts to pick up on that subtle surf vibe that “Blue Eyes” sparked, it’s hard not to skip over the first few numbers, after “In My Teeth” to get to the goods. Perhaps this is a record that requires some extra time for a deeper undercurrent to arise. See for yourself.