On her latest LP, Safe To Run, Esther Rose manages to offer an album’s worth of strong emotional songs without getting too weighed down in earnestness. The death metal font on the album cover is the first hint that Rose is not overly consumed by solemnity.
Recorded partially in her adopted hometown of New Orleans with her longtime collaborator/producer Ross Farbe, Rose brought in members of the band Silver Synthetic, The Deslondes’ Cameron Snyder, and Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff to add to the album. In the process of writing Safe To Run, she left New Orleans for Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The album’s opening track, “Stay,” and “Chet Baker,” which immediately follows, offer a solid example of what is so appealing about Rose’s music: She covers emotional and relatable ground with a fun blend of Americana and pop music. She also weaves personal experiences throughout the songs. On “Chet Baker” for example, she sings about her time living in a college town in Michigan. “As I was writing this song, it occurred to me how lucky I was to have survived that time of willful recklessness. I wanted to empathize with my younger self, like, ‘it’s alright, you were 23. You were out of control. I got you now. You’re okay.’” That mix of the deeply personal with the relatable is a powerful combination.
Elsewhere, on “Spider,” one of the album’s early singles, Rose sings about the need to let go of a relationship and covers her own self-doubt on “Insecure”. But she can also write a great character song, like on the peppy “Dream Girl,” about heading to Hollywood right out of high school and becoming everyone’s envy.
The allure of Rose’s music is in her ability to shift from seemingly deeply personal material to songs about completely unrelated characters – covering topics from serious to carefree – with lyrics that switch from heartbreaking to witty and wry, all delivered over a strong Country/Pop soundtrack.
Rose has just announced the first tour dates behind this record including dates with Fruit Bats and Dylan Earl.
