De Rosa - Weem

One of Chemikal Underground’s most under-rated and under exposed acts was De Rosa, a five piece hailing from Lanarkshire, Scotland. In their lifespan they managed to release two commercial albums, 2006’s Mend and 2009’s Prevention before disbanding and joining the ever growing ranks of innovative indie bands crushed by the weight of the falling record industry.  Since disbanding in 2009 very little was heard of the band except lead singer Martin John Henry who set to work establishing himself as a solo artist with 2011’s The Other Half Of Everything, but in 2012 the band revealed they had reunited. Four years and a few scattered live appearances later and De Rosa have finally gotten round to releasing their third album; Weem, on Mogwai owned record label Rock Action Records.

For the uninitiated the music of De Rosa is a heady mixture of indie folk with a touch of post-rock grandeur. Whilst the band’s first album Mend was more of a punchy guitar driven album, 2009’s Prevention was the start of the bands movement into this more polished and diverse sound, which in part is what made the bands break up so lamentable. Weem is a continuation of this more refined aesthetic and every part of Weem is teeming with subtle graceful flourishes. The guitars range from melodious electric reverb to the delicate acoustic at a pace that feels organic and consistent whilst Martin John Henry’s trademark Scottish brogue completes the bands unique and instantly recognisable sound.  Sporadically keyboards, pianos and glockenspiels make themselves known which reinforces the albums diversity of sound and attention to detail. All of this combines with Henry’s penchant for traversing what feels like quite dark territory in his lyrics. The overall effect is something singularly magical, a record of such fine detail it stands as a stark reminder as to why De Rosa were so dearly missed in their absence.  Devotees of the band will recognise some of the songs on offer here as songs originally released as part of the digital only series Appendices which saw the band release one song a month in 2008 for free download. These songs however have been lovingly re-recorded in somewhat altered forms here to prevent them seem too much like money for old rope, and to be honest even in their original forms these songs stood out as some of the bands most catchy material at the time so tracks like The Sea Cup and Prelude To Entropic Doom were always truly worthy of a commercial release. Meanwhile newer compositions such as lead single and opener Spectres and album closer The Mute are so hypnotically catchy it is hard not to see them joining the bands ever swelling ranks of canon compositions.  

From start to finish Weem matches up to the promise De Rosa alluded to before their premature break up with Prevention. With seldom a dull moment on it the whole album marks a most triumphant return for a group who have certainly been too long away. Available on CD or vinyl through Rock Action Records I strongly advise you to give it a spin.
Physical/Download: http://rockaction.co.uk/releases/5426/weem