Rosali - No Medium LP

A bittersweet arrival this week, with copies of Rosali’s instant classic No Medium finally finding their way back in stock. However, they arrived with a “DELETED” comment on the invoice…. Please tell me it isn’t so! I suspect these might be the last copies we’ll see for a while of one of the best albums of the last half-decade…

No Medium was a revelation for a lot of us in the shop and has since become a frequent reference point. I definitely hadn’t heard any of her previous records when I initially ordered this one in, but a couple of very green flags (a previous LP on Siltbreeze as well as David Nance and Mowed Sound working as her backing band) felt like this was definitely worth a listen… and I don’t think I’ve stopped listening since.

In a world where so much “songwriter” or “indie rock” music (for lack of better terms) delves into the confessional, Rosali’s songs are direct, honest, and generous without becoming trite or obvious. Not to mention that her and her band shred! No Medium provided a shining light for making meaningful music in the underground outside of overblown press bio narratives or mysterious cool-guy punk hype.

Also worth speculating that this record may have sold the most copies among staff in this shop with a bunch of us buying copies and then buying extra copies to gift to family and friends who are into anything from Crazy Horse to Lucinda Williams.

An all timer that hopefully returns to print soon!!! –Mitch

From 2021:
Since hearing this latest Rosali album, I’ve been kicking myself that I didn’t know about her solo work earlier, and have been raving about it all week!

Guitarist out of Philly trio Long Hots, this is her third solo LP this time around backed David Nance and his band. There’s moments that recall the basement country and soul lilt of Exile-era Stones, but really the rock’n’ll calling card her is Neil Young & Crazy Horse. An album that is ostensibly a singer-songwriter album, but with a killer backing band (& shredders galore!), that both foregrounds the songs and extends them. 

One to file alongside the recent Michael Beach LP or one for fans of crossover “indie rock/songwriter” (a genre signifier seems so middling and ungenerous… but this is anything but) acts like Sharon Van Etten or Julia Jacklin with crystalline vocals and rock solid song craft.
-Mitch