Rosetta West – Labyrinth (Album Review)

In the world of niche music subgenres, you will find trails of similarity and inspiration in between various tracks. It doesn’t matter if it is portrayed as something that is mindblowing or if it isn’t. That’s the beauty of the mystery of interpreting music, and often, the colours shine even brighter when you have a large database to scour from. Today’s review itself is a journey through the world of music, by a band named Rosetta West. They are self-described as an eclectic blues rock band hailing from Illinois, with genres such as psychedelia and world folk music infused within their compositions.

I think that’s a very apt description of the multifaceted style that they have. The band consists of the founder and the songwriter Joseph Demagore, who takes credit with the vocals, guitars, and occasionally, the keyboards as well. The second member, Jason X, plays the bass and the keyboard. Together with the elusive third member, Nathan Q. Scratch, they all contribute percussive elements to their compositions. They have made previous independent releases and their newest release, ‘Labyrinth’, also bears Jason X’s expertise as the co-producer and sound engineer. It is an extremely mind-blowing and genre-bending release, and in this review, we will explore the maze within Labyrinth.

Throughout the album, the motif of world folklore gets infused and explored within many different tracks. In fact, in most instances of the album, I can hear a slight morphology going on between the intent of playing world folklore and blues itself- the chords and the strumming pattern of the guitars in the background bear a very strong resemblance to Sahel blues, instead of purely being a Blues isolate. Tracks like ‘Red Rose Mary Bones’ and ‘The Temple’ display this very well. The infusion of a hijaz-esque melody in the track ‘Deeper Than Magic’ is very significant, turning the motif of blues to almost that of Bedouin blues ala Abaji. The same track also has a very 90s flair to it, with the contrasting rhythm guitar bearing a flange-like tinge to it. Another track, ‘Blue Fog’, also follows the same undeniable formulaic pattern in its composition.

The same pattern follows with ‘Roman Mountains’, expanding upon the same motifs but with a more emotional expansion to it. A very interesting choice of motivic development can be heard throughout the track, as the typical flair of the guitar is complemented by dark and brash undertones of piano as well as strings. Rosetta West does not lose their characteristic style while leaving room for more passion and stories to unfold with these amendments.

The tracks ‘Ginny’s Gone’ and ‘Shine’ pushes back on the blues motif, venturing into more of a punk and early grunge style with its delivery. While I appreciate this track for what it is, I feel like songs like these could be found in the catalog of many other rock artists- even with Nirvana’s earliest release on ‘Bleach’. The guitar solo in the middle of the song is pretty commendable, but this song does not necessarily stand out with any unique motifs. In fact, the previous tracks on the album have set the bar for creativity to a level high enough that this song unfortunately becomes quite predictable. I will say though, the vocals in this particular song are stronger than the vocals in the other songs.

In a change of musical presentation, the subsequent track ‘Elmore’s Blues’ doubles down on the classical Blues motif all while being complemented by elements of definitely psychedelic rock and shoegaze. It also has a Western flair to it. I find this song quite interesting and reminds me of very stereotypical Western-meets-psychedelic visuals. ‘Fly Away’ then expands upon the same thematic flow, but with more authenticity- this time, bearing the use of harmonicas. It’s very genuine in its approach and potent enough to warrant musical excitation. I think these songs are a treat to hear in the whole flow of the album, given the predictability of the previous tracks. The subsequent songs, ‘Nightmare Blues’ and ‘Venous Blue’ also follow the same compositional techniques.

‘Sanctuary’ then breaks the melange of Western blues with a song that unfortunately has a very typical, preset-esque groove when it comes to the percussion. The song, however, shines with the acoustic patterns and scales that it decides to incorporate. The use of notes and manipulation throughout the middle of the song is extremely ingenious, with notes that oscillate between Sahel blues and 80s glam rock. I think that’s extremely innovative. I think this song could be improved upon by just simply changing the percussion because everything else in the song is insanely novel.

The titular track, ‘Labyrinth’, is truly a treat to my ears. I can immediately detect the type of notes used in the introduction of the song. This song bears similarity to the scales used in Guinean music, mixed with their interpretation of the hijaz-psychedelic scale axis. For that, I have to give them a lot of plus points. I genuinely have not heard of this compositional technique ANYWHERE else. I could only imagine of this in my head. The vocals in this song seem to follow the general melody of the guitar, wrapping it up in a very slight melody. I think they should expand upon the compositional techniques used in this song, as I can safely say it is a pioneering move in my knowledge of music. The slight strings and panning also help to give the song the desert close it deserves.

Last but not least, ‘Superior’ ends the album with a bang, taking it back to the stylo-milo sound that late punk has. It is decent, but after being blown away by the previous tracks, once again, this seems like a slight low. Don’t get me wrong, it is an amazing sounding song with excellent mastering and proficient instrumentation. However, the band’s capacity to innovate has already been displayed to a great capacity, making the listener beg for more compositions in that direction as opposed to this.

There is one observation I have made throughout the album, and that is the fact that I feel like the vocalist should play more with experimenting with the melody of his vocals to fit the innovative motifs of the melodies of other tracks. Since they blur the lines between psychedelia as well as world folk music, it would be exciting to hear his vocal timbre attempt a polyphonic vocal style. He has a great timbre and sound, but I think his voice needs to stand out a little bit more. That would definitely have made the album even more special.

Overall, this release truly opened my mind and connected me to various different genres that I wouldn’t ordinarily detect others use in these genres. This shows how special this band truly is. Merging genres such as psychedelic rock, punk, grunge, world music, world fusion, AND folk music as well as other forms of blues, whether intentional or not, is a gargantuan task and I’d say this band pulled it off very well. They are excellent when it comes to songwriting, composition as well as innovation. To add more to this, this album was very well mastered. I did not hear any element of an instrument sounding out of place and adequate panning was used to elevate elements of each song itself.

If you’re looking to broaden your horizons and enter a different world with music, the maze of Labyrinth is certainly enticing. I highly recommend this album.

Score/Excellent: With compositional and musical techniques that are extremely niche, novel, and exemplary, Rosetta West will definitely blow your mind with ‘Labyrinth’. You will go through a musical journey with little quirks to spot here and there, leading you to a musical dimension you’ve never been to before. Slight issues are present with certain tracks, but the overall quality is stellar enough to warrant praise.

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