Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A novel written over time is no less important than the instant hit of a film brought to the screen in a matter of months, the film may be immediate but the novel will encompass the depth of each chapter poured and dissected over in a way that Time cannot ignore. The novel is to the reader as the album is to the music lover, the single release or the occasional new song performed may catch the ear initially, but it is to the album in which the themes explored knit together and become whole.
Timeless themes last beyond the immediate hit, they are measured, thoughtful and respective of the moments they mirror and for Doghouse Roses and their album, We Are Made Of Light, timeless is the overall effect and charm to which the songs recorded, thrive!
The album also benefits hugely from the long-term friendship and musical harmony that is Iona Macdonald and Paul Tasker, the flow of each song is creatively polished and given due consideration to its place in the arc of the album’s structure. This is not an album of the quick turnaround or highly- seasoned offering in which time beats fleetingly, instead this one in which the slow boil is gratefully received. The allure once more of the classic novel sitting at the heart of their music rather than the hastily written soap which looks for reaction rather than thought being the largest compliment that can be given.
Across songs such as One More For The Road, Why We Fight, Elegy For A Seaside Town, The Reckoning and in a sweet and thoughtful cover of Peter Green’s legendary track, Oh Well, Doghouse Roses revel in the light to which they have become lauded by the fans, a territory of passion and reassurance in an age of the quick easy fix to which has become the go to emotion for an age that has arguably been found to regret not having the compulsion or energy to embrace time as a companion, rather seeing it is a burst than through the eyes of a prism.
We are all made of light, some produce it rather than reflecting it, and for Doghouse Roses, We Are Made Of Light is a true sentiment never better argued.
Doghouse Roses We Are Made Of Light is out now and available from Yellowroom Music.
Ian D. Hall