ROZELLE AT THE LOUISIANA

SEPTEMBER 2015

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It’s nine o’clock in the evening at that smoky old venue across the river, the Louisiana. Throngs of people line the pavement outside the venue; a gathering of denim jackets, skinny jeans, oversized jumpers and wild, tousled hair surround the tables and benches, dotted with varying pints; a desperados here, a cider there; whilst cigarettes pose idly in otherwise-engaged hands, a blanket of animated chatter absorbing the scene.

Inside, crowds of faces turned up towards the Rugby match congregate around the bar: England vs. Wales- a sure outcome at this point- whilst upstairs, bathed in a pinky-blue hue, musicians untangle wires and adjust mic stands, faced with the charged, empty room.

 

The evening’s line-up would showcase an array of raw, delicate vocals and synthy dreaminess, cut through with layers of dusky, aureated guitar. Emlyn, up first as support for the evening and described as possessing an ethereal, ambient sound, was as captivating and encompassing as we anticipated. Whilst Ema Sierra hinted towards a surf rock/dream pop style; particularly noticeable in those fuzzy, strangled vocals- and not due to the cough that Kat, bassist, pointed out they were all suffering from- but in a way that bears a resemblance to that Californian style of surf-garage rock; think Best Coast with less focus on amorphous guitar and more fragility.

 

Allowing for a quick moment to appreciate that spectacle of a Rugby game; at the break, we made it down to the bar just as Wales made that pivotal try and Boyce’s celebratory pasty-inspired chants of ‘Oggy Oggy Oggy! Oi Oi Oi!’ rang across the bar. The excitement was carried up the stairs and into the intimate gig above by a jostle of rosy-cheeked, giddy spectators; as, the band came onstage, the buzz of merriment had begun to reach alarming levels.

 

Rozelle, and yes we have finally got to the point of this review, carried the euphoria across the whole of their set. They introduced new EP track, ‘Altitude’ early in their set; played amongst older and perhaps subtler songs such as ‘Heavy’, and ‘Feel’.

Then, in keeping with the ever-building tension, the texture of the tracks became more layered;  ‘Inhale’ and ‘Said for Years’ filled the little room with those longing, heartbreaking vocals and towards the end of their set, ‘Crystallise’ and ‘Transparent’ were launched across the crowd, enhancing the build up to towards the climactic EP finale that is ‘Fold’.

 

The band, which consists of: Hayley Smith: vocals and guitar; Loulou Barry: synth and vocals; Alex Rowland: lead electric guitar; Dan Hodgson: bass guitar and Tomos Jarvis: drums (who was also kind enough to give me a set list at the end of the night), have a distinctively colourful, wistful sound, combining synth, sampling pads, loop pedalling and soft whispering harmonies into their tracks. At times, during verses of ‘Feel’ for example, they seem to channel the fast, repetitive riffs and loops typical of Two Door Cinema Club, but then completely alter and sound so distinct you would be hard pushed to place them in any particular genre.

 

Bringing together the vocal characteristics of Kate Bush (what? Yes, you read that correctly), the heavily jarring synths of No Ceremony and those theatrical, peaking choruses typical of our beloved Florence; qualities which are especially prominent in ‘Fold’; Rozelle are a kind of electronic-pop-rock-indie hybrid. ‘Inhale’, for example, combines a bittersweet, dark lunar magniloquence, but with those clear, almost luminous vocal harmonies. In terms of spectrum, they’re covering the lot, and it really gives them a sense of depth.

 

 They ended the set with aforementioned ‘Fold’, arguably the most striking track on their EP, and one which I’m sure will play a major part in their rise to fame. They then followed with an encore of ‘Rust and Earth’, which to round up, was a great end to the set, and a really great beginning to the band’s career.

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