Jess Roze - Jess Roze (Cuchabata)

This little stripped down pop gem insinuated into the world from the ever-prolific Cuchabata label a couple years ago, but the timelessness of the pop, psych and punk tunes contain therein transcend time’s constraints. (That and let’s just say fuck the mainstream music industry pigs’ money-based need for constant immediacy and novelty. DIY dictates that we can float things around for as long as we want, enjoy the non linearity of music in whatever order you wish, if it’s evocative and fresh, it will pop out the can as brightly painted as when it grew in the mind of the creator.) In this case the creator is songwriter Jess Roze, who comes from Valleyfield Quebec originally, here sporting some picture perfect raw pop tunes that draw you in with sparkling immediacy. There are glimmers of east coast H.P.X. vibes and Sappy recs riffs sparking through the easy-going and upbeat hooks, typically straightforward but diving now and then into sunny day pop, with Sea and Cake – order complexity to the riffs banged out in sly mid-fi expertise on tunes like the picture perfect “Dreams”. Things get fuzzier from there with “Intoxicate The Sky”, a propulsive jaunt, that brings a comfortable darkness to counterpoint the relatively innocent sound of the preceding songs. There is a clarity to Roze’s voice that sits so well in the scaffolding of the songs, moments occur that are sublime, like on the early 90’s-sounding triumph of “Don’t Wait Up For Me”, which elicits all the frissons a vocal melody can have, with just the right amount of rough and restraint. I begin to hear the poppier side of Sub Pop (Pete Krebs, maybe?) or LA cult heroes Sun 60 in the edges of the songs.. but that’s just my busy brain, putting adornments on a stage that’s already blissfully simple, spartan and engaging. A successful and lovingly crafted package of frayed-edged pop treasures.

https://www.facebook.com/jessrozemusic