Rosalie builds on the quality and diversity of Two Piece Puzzle (2022) with another set of magnificent songs. The striking glossy front cover photograph is picked up in the opening title track, which is every bit a Bond theme in waiting. The hook is terrific and there are some lovely tangents in the music. ‘I can be anything in my own play’ she playfully reveals. Timothy Martin’s Conditioning School follows. it’s an engaging hybrid of the Beatles and the Move right from the lively Eleanor Rigby-esque intro. Changing tack, Heavy Pencil comes out as a killer 70s funky soundtrack, which switches into an Opeth style prog fest with Tull overtones. It’s just fabulous. Hear some of it here on YouTube. Good To Be Damned is a bluesy brooding piece with some sweet Beatles style divergences. Meanwhile back with the blues, here’s Rosalie In The Shade Of The Shadows, an absorbing atmospheric piece.
The first curveball is the chillingly uneasy and menacing The Smut Peddler. It’s an instrumental but it didn’t need lyrics such is the vivid quality of the music. Rosco Wilson’s lead guitar on this is awesome, as he crunches out the prog style monster riff. Denim Eyes follows with a sunny hallucinogenic quality to it. It’s a peaceful interlude before the unholy Spook Racket. It’s Rosalie on Hammond organ, and that, plus Wilson’s stinging lead guitar, makes for a real beast of a track. Stepped Out Of Time is a waltz style track which sees Rosalie ‘stepping down a staircase I’ve seen in old dreams’ and it’s those kind of trips that enliven all of her songs.
The big cinematic conclusion is Premiere which nods towards a mariachi style Morricone soundtrack. It’s an epic piece of work that highlights the breadth of her musical ambitions. When she sings, ‘I pinned my soul up in a frame’ I feel that that’s what she delivers so well. With Rosalie Cunningham you get a musical kaleidoscope that rewards more with every listen. She is an extraordinary talent. This album is, as they say, all killer and no filler. Album of the year.
CD purchasers get two bonus tracks – Return Of The Ellington and Home which came out on single earlier in 2024. Ellington is the next instalment following on from Puzzle’s Donovan Ellington and Donny Part Two. It kicks off with a Focus type guitar riff and flute and then enchants and entertains with an often playful Rosalie vocal. Home is a chilled-out finale which is the perfect low key conclusion to the album. Just a really good song, and with mellotron too!