Music: Anna Rose: Nomad

Our Take

After releasing a five song EP last year, singer/songwriter Anna Rose has returned with her debut full length Nomad. While her music partially falls into the realm of pop rock, it also incorporates elements of folk, traditional rock ‘n roll and even a little alt-country at times. At a time when quite a few artists are focused on making their music as processed and flawless as possible, it is nice to find a singer that is willing to take a rawer approach and let her true character shine through.

Despite the fact that Rose has attempted to add a lot of variety to her album this doesn’t mean that the songs feel underdeveloped. Although each song really seems to be pulling from a different style, each one has a memorable groove or melody that really hooks you and keeps you coming back for more. As I mentioned earlier, the majority of Nomad falls into the pop rock category but there are plenty of twists and turns added over top of this base to keep things interesting. One moment the instrumentals might have a folk or alt-country twang to them while the next it sounds as though Rose has taken a cue from classic rock and the track has a slightly harder edge. There are a few weak songs here and there, but as a whole this is a very strong effort with plenty of memorable moments.

When listeners first turn Nomad on, they will notice that Anna Rose has an incredible voice. She has a very mellow, laid back style but occasionally uses a slightly more forceful delivery to emphasize certain passages. Considering that a lot of pop rock artists are currently using Auto-Tune or other manipulations to make their performances as pristine and neat as possible, it is great to see that Rose lets her true voice be heard even when it has a little bit of frailness to it. This certainly makes Nomad feel more genuine and when that is combined with the very personal sounding lyrics it is clear that this is an effort listeners can relate to.

You can probably already tell, but I am rather addicted to this release and am finding it to be a very strong debut from a singer/songwriter that is sure to turn some heads. Hopefully Anna Rose will be able to continue offering this level of variety as it is helping to set her apart from many of the other artists out there. If you enjoy pop rock/rock ‘n roll that isn’t afraid to experiment with some folk and alt-country, don’t miss out on this one.

http://www.annarosemusic.com/

Chris Dahlberg
July 23, 2010