Rosetta West – Turning Upside Down (Single Review)

Rosetta West is a band that I have to truly admire for their uniqueness and creativity when it comes to contributing to the world of music. While I may have a slightly different interpretation of their art compared to their stylistic intent, their art is chock full of various influences as well as deep, lush and intriguing harmonic choices. Their last release, the album ‘Labyrinth‘ was given the signature Music Review World comprehensive analysis, and I was simply blown away by the sheer amount of influences, timbres, and sensations that I could extract merely by listening to their body of work. Individuals are to be cherished in the world of art, as we constantly lament about the ‘industry plants’ and the predictability of most art these days- and Rosetta West indeed, is an ‘individual’. Let’s go down their labyrinth and explore what expectation has been turned upside down this time.

Before we get into the review, an introduction is certainly necessary. Rosetta West comprises of three talented individuals: Joseph Demagore, the main vocalist and the guitarist, Jason X, the bassist, and Nathan Q. Scratch, the drummer and percussionist. The three of them gel together to create obscure yet everlasting tracks, garnering a dedicated international fanbase- small yet loyal to their art. This current release is posed to expand their horizons and grow their fanbase, as it includes strange strident guitar chords, tribal drums and bass, as well as lyrics that insinuate an alien and/or demonic invasion.

Besides the allure of eclecticism, esoterism and mystery, the song aims to be the zeitgeist with its chorus: ‘Everything Everyone is turning upside down.‘ The release also includes a bonus instrumental that aligns with Celtic music traditions titled Merlin, intending to set the tone of medievalism. I’m excited to get into this, as well as the bonus track. I must confess, the current onslaught of gnome memes from Poland has captured not only my eyes but my ears as the memes tend to have a lo-fi medieval backing track to it, and I’ve always been drawn to medieval sounds. The use of unique notes and time signatures give it a very distinct feel that modern music is afraid to touch. Without further ado, let’s explore and analyse the single.

The song immediately captured my attention, with the abrupt and striking guitar chords instantly striking my ears. The choice of sound engineering is amazing to me, albeit organic- it definitely has a chopped up melodic groove to it, but a striking chord sequence and cadence. It is one of a kind. I also appreciate the detail in the track with the way the guitar is panned towards the right. As the track evolves, you’ll realise that the panning somewhat changes and confuses you in a great way. The vocalist’s distinctive raspy, alarming, and harmonic voice is somewhat panned to the left, and the percussion is split into different panned sections. I think this gives more dimension to the track, as gelled together it forms a ‘circular’ soundscape, matching the engulfing feeling of everything going to chaos as well as the charged and unshakable feeling of mystery.

The percussion patterns are definitely tribal, reminiscent of the percussion sections of the song ‘Ririnu’ by Ronnie Galama, a Papua New Guinean classic. The juxtaposition between the observation of the extraterrestrial and the definite tribal percussion gives this song also more depth, it reflects the contradiction of these times: we’re hyperfuturistic, but we’ve also regressed in a way. The guitar solo at 1:35 has a very psychedelic flair to it, adding on to the theme of extraterrestrials and mystery without giving the song any cheesiness associated with the space age. I also notice the bass in this song, it’s subtle but actually forms a backbone to this entire song with not only its depth but dynamicism. The bridge of the song at the mark of 2:20 is genius to me. The notes chosen reflects a feel of mystery but also dread, fear and deep emotion all at once. In terms of composition, this song is truly a breath of fresh air. The vocalist’s vocals are also well-layered, helping to increase the feel of mystery.

I feel quite biased because this song feels like the culmination of all of my past musical influences with the various nodes involved- but it genuinely works well with this track. The track is well-mastered, and all of the compositional quirks pointed out help to effectively convey Rosetta West’s artistic vision. I can’t even single out a particular instrument or instrumentalist, because not only is each segment well mastered, they’re also well-written from a music theory perspective. The use of odd scales as well as developed motivic variation helps to keep the listener on their toes, for sure.

The bonus instrumental Merlin on the other hand, feels like the complete opposite of the other track. It is upbeat and filled with mirth. It is wholesome and almost ethereal at some point. The main melodic part echoes with a golden resonance, reminding you of the bright depiction of medieval times. The same dynamic bass returns, helping to give the song a contrapuntal feel. The change in tempo also helps you to savour the song as it slows towards the end. Like the other release, it is very well mastered and executed. I only have one critique: I wish it was longer!

Overall, this release did not disappoint me and I’m quite pleased to see Rosetta West maintain their standard of music with their releases. It is quite hard to maintain consistency when it comes to the quality and reception of subsequent releases and they executed this task perfectly. The two tracks, albeit opposites musically, really do complement each other like yin and yang. I hope to hear more from them, and I hope you will too.

Rating/Excellent – Rosetta West returns with their unique blend of eccentricity and musical competency with their new release, ‘Turning Upside Down’. It is a wonderful track with a distinct attention to detail in terms of production value, as well as songwriting and instrumentation. It definitely will make you feel like you’re being transported to a different universe.

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