REVIEW: Rosetta West – ‘Gravity Sessions’

Rosetta West aren’t interested in polishing their sound into oblivion, or pretending that rock and roll was ever meant to be clean. On ‘Gravity Sessions’, their newest collection tracked in just a few fevered days at Chicago’s legendary Gravity Studios, they return to the elemental force of their live performance: no frills, no filters, just grit, groove, and guts.

Opening up with ‘Dora Lee’, the band are certainly looking to turn heads right from the off. With Joseph Demagore’s voice cracking open the narrative like thunder and Herf Guderian’s bass lines pacing like a predator in the dark, the track pulses with a hypnotic kind of menace.

Musically, the collection is a stripped-down storm. The guitars snarl and simmer, never showboating but always circling something primal. The energy is urgent but never chaotic. There’s control here, but it’s the kind that suggests the band has learned to ride the current rather than tame it. It’s the sound of a band confident enough to let the rawness speak for itself.

Rosetta West have always known their history. ‘Gravity Sessions’ captures them in their purest form, playing for both earnestness and truth. And if this is what a few days in the studio sounds like for Rosetta West, then perhaps urgency is the secret ingredient we’ve all been missing. Turn it up, close your eyes, and let it pull you into its orbit.