It seems like the more I enjoy an album the harder it is to dissect its meaning. The better the music the less inclined I am to want to find deeper meaning, pull back the layers and guess at what the band "really" meant.
Luckily, with Hey Rosetta's Seeds, the meaning just sort of presents itself - blossoms if you will (first and last flower/seed reference). It might sound like the quintessential "band on the road" album (a very typical subject for sophomore albums). But it also seems to explore the idea of family and heritage too. So which is it?
The album's first lines - "the road bends long, like mother's arms" - don't clear anything up, but more on that later.
What those opening lines do is set up an emotional and hard hitting song that evolves from a subtle, strumming mandolin into a full fledged sonic assault. Lead singer Tim Baker's melodic wale explodes into the chorus, demanding you take notice.
And that's just the first song.
The albums that follows is equally impressive, whether the band is executing a seamless shuffle like 'Yer Spring' or bouncing nimbly through 'New Sum (Nous Sommes)'. But if you had only been casually listening to this point, 'Welcome' is when you’ll stop and take notice.
Erupting from a subdued instrumental piece (that sounds like a muted dinner party) comes the tale of a first-time father apologising to his newborn child for the trying times that lie ahead. The story is touching (and relate-able as a newish father) but the enormous song wrapped around it makes 'Welcome' 10 times more emotional.
Two years ago we reviewed Hey Rosetta's first album and unanimously agreed this was a band on the verge of something bigger. They were all potential and raw talent waiting to be realized.
Seeds is that in spades. The band has hyper-focused their talent and potential to create an album that showcases a cohesive, confident group of musicians. And yes, it's a more mature band, and a band coming into their own, but they retain all of the immediacy and intensity that got them added to the 2009 Polaris Shortlist two years ago.
The fact that two albums in and they've already been recognized with two Polaris shortlist nominations should tell you everything you need to know (no pressure for album number three guys).
So is this an album about a touring band or families, new and old? Frankly it could be about both, but fundamentally it feels more about travelling forward into something completely unknown. Whether barreling down the road or coming into the world brand new, Seeds sounds like a soundtrack to the journeys we’re all forced to take.
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