Album Review: Hey Rosetta! – Red Songs EP

Hey Rosetta! is a band that never stops. Since the release of their Polaris short listed album Into Your Lungs the band has intensively toured the world with multiple trips across Canada, the United States, two tours in Europe, and a tour of Australia. In November they released their song Old Crow Black Night Stand Still for CBC Radio 2. Last month they released a iTunes exclusive live session EP. This week they their Red Songs EP. The song Red Song has been kicking around since early 2009 and has a beautiful video released in March 2009 directed by Noah Pink. The song was inspired by the Biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colours, and was written by singer Tim Baker in a dreamlike song. “Kind of a love song, kind of a sleeping song, kind of a Joseph song” is how he described it while introducing it on a CBC Radio 3 session podcast. The EP is aptly named as the other two songs on the EP are also laid back and acoustic based, a contrast to uptempo songs such as I’ve Been Asleep For A Long Long Time and Lions for Scottie from previous releases. Who Is At My Window Weeping? (The Silver Dagger) is a traditional folk song featuring acoustic guitars, strings, and handclaps. Bandages is another acoustic based song showing Hey Rosetta!’s diversity. As a whole the EP is something different from their other releases, allowing the little details such as the creaking guitar, the strings, and the vocals to shine through.