The Roseline have been around a while, and that shows in Blood‘s DNA. I wouldn’t call it bar rock, though it has that driving beat and sticky nostalgia that has defined many bands before them. But these songs are reserved in a way that only could have been written post-9/11. More Gin Blossoms than Replacements, with a healthy nod to more adventurous songwriters like Robert Ellis and Will Johnson, The Roseline exude resigned melancholy.
Colin Haliburton, the band’s singer and songwriter, strikes me as the type of guy who’s utterly fascinated by women. Not in a creepy way; I just think there’s a certain subset of men out there who view women as magical, otherworldly beings deserving of reverence. Only a guy like that could write such beautiful, achingly intimate portraits of the women he’s (mostly) lost. But his depictions of budding love are excellent as well:
Damn it feels nice
To be nervous all the time
Around a girl that you like
Who reciprocates
Cuz it ain’t been long
Since I been over the one I lost
This is the kind of music we need right now — ones that encompass the sadness, weariness, and horror of our times while providing kind, comforting observations of the smaller moments that make up our day-to-day life.
The Roseline — Official, Facebook, Bandcamp
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