GutterPutter

Rose City Band is, as the name implies, a band from “Rose City” which is a nickname of Portland, Oregon. To be more specific, they’re a country rock group who happens to adopt the endless echoes and dreamy vocalisation of psychedelia thanks in part to their founder and frontman Erik ‘Ripley’ Johnson. Johnson himself has played in Wooden Shjips and Moon Duo, both relatively recognisable names in the mid-late 2000s, which abides with psychedelic alienness. It’s this formula which nets Rose City Band some praise from publications like the Guardian on their 2020 album Summerlong. Outside of that, they aren’t exactly the most notable names around with the Wikipedia page of Wooden Shjips only implying that Rose City Band is largely Johnson’s project. Democracy in the recording booth be damned.

For Sol Y Sombra, Rose City Band lets out their style in a way that feels clear and that serves as its biggest strength. However, it serves as its biggest weakness even more so as its slow tempo makes for a meandering listen. Almost all of the tracks, in one way or the other, have failed to fully embrace the potential that could be found in mixing country with psychedelia. In ‘Radio Song’, faded rhythmic strums of the guitar were played as Johnson sings of his several visitations and daydreams while going back home. Given the reverbs in the vocals, one would have hoped for some weird lyrics that captures the drug-like surrealness of psychedelia. However, the music only conveys that impression from its production (which is a bit of a mixed bag due to the mixing) which doesn’t feel as “overdone” as it should have been. The lyrical content otherwise doesn’t aspire to reach the level of adventurousness as it could have and such could also be felt be it on a slower pace like ’Evergreen’ or with a bit more dreaminess in its vocal tinkering like ‘Sunlight Daze’.

When the album does try to turn up its pacing, it still feels held back by the muddied mixing as previously mentioned. You can still clearly hear the elongated notes from the lead guitar, but the rest of the instrumentation feels muted in comparison as if to bury some issues. The intro of ‘Lights on the Way’ has its bits of drumming and bass playing which feels too simplistic. You can hear a cymbal every now and then or the bounce in the bassline, but it feels like a flash in the pan that barely distracts you from the dullness of the performance. ‘Rolling Gold’ is the same as does ‘Open Roads’, but a notable standout in how lacklustre the listening experience can be comes from ‘La Mesa’ where there is some use of the synths. The handful of keyboards, synths included, not only fail to bring life to the album, but it collapses into the hodgepodge of barely identifiable instruments.

However, all that is said about Sol Y Sombra isn’t entirely bad in and of itself. There is at least one track that is enjoyable in ‘Wheels’ where the mixing there somewhat feels a lot clearer than on other tracks. The small bits of vocal harmony with Sanae Yamada and the mellow guitar solo allies the track to offer a sense of relief that doesn’t necessarily need to feel tied to psychedelia. As for the other two remaining tracks to talk about, they are tolerable even if they might not hit the certain level that makes the former track a treat to enjoy. ‘The Walls’ is a more sombre outro with its evident piano, downbeat tempo, and a slug-like delivery of the lyrics which make for a saddening closure. For ‘Seeds of Light’, the guitar strums make for a pleasant, wave-like splash that suits the nautical topic of the song and the way that each note stretches out slightly makes it the most psychedelic track in the album.

Sol Y Sombra isn’t a special album as per say. If anything, it’s average to the point where it hitches on boredom. There’s little about it that not only comes off as remarkable and a lot about it that makes it a skip for both psychedelic and country music fans who are aiming to find a gem to fit in their time constraints. Whatever imaginative twist you are hoping to find here; you might as well abandon them right now. Barring ‘Wheels’, the tracks are at best serviceable and while there aren’t any serious stinkers to be had, its mediocrity serves as its blindfold that prevents its sights from seeing potential highs.

However, maybe that’s not a dramatic problem that needs to be drummed up as if it’s the end of the world. Never mind the complaints, the truth is that the instrumental playing as a whole is pleasant, the singing gentle, and the guitar playing melodic in general. If you wish for something grand, discard this paragraph and stick with my original warning that the album is bland beyond relief. If you are a sincere lover of country music and you are hoping for a tinge of psychedelia without any sense of ambition, you are invited to a relaxing listen. It might not be a masterpiece, but Johnson and the others have made clear on their Bandcamp page that this should not be taken as a left-turn. They are happy to stay in their lane and pay lip service to their grateful fanbase even if they might not excite prospective listeners. Contentedness has locked them in, but it frees them of damning blunders.

1.8/5