Who's up for a Garden Party? Rose City Band certainly are and it's all pure bliss here.
Thrill Jockey mainstays Rose City Band have been kicking it for awhile with their sunlit, breezy, psychedelic country rock and pop tunes that can certainly be accompanied with the bud of your choice (whether it's from beer or weed... or both). Led by Wooden Shjips member Ripley Johnson, Rose City Band bring a certain laid back vibe that's charming and dreamy like the Grateful Dead themselves. Their new album, Garden Party, is definitely a celebratory record. It might be the most laid back celebratory record I've heard, but a celebratory record at that. They produce super chilled out, hypnotic jams that definitely make you want to vibe out and sit back on your porch swing and gently rock back and forth while watching the sunset with your ten-year-old golden retriever.
Being my first Rose City Band album experience, Garden Party is a fun one and you certainly don't need to know anything going into it. If you enjoy the hypnotic and breezy psych country and rock from the 60's and 70's, then this should be up your alley. Johnson's vocals are so hushed and low key that you may even forget that they're even there and that's not even remotely a bad thing. "Mariposa" is one of the best jams I've heard in 2023 and can turn it on repeat over and over. "El Rio" closes the album in hypnotic and groovy fashion that sounds like as if the band is silently giving themselves a bedtime song just before sleepy time (again: not a bad thing). "Porch Boogie" brings the pep in your step at the hedge and grassy coated lawn while "Chasing Rainbows" would be a solid song to have at your local BBQ or badminton tournament. Overall Garden Party is definitely well expected on paper and visually too (I mean, you get exactly what you expect when you look at the album's cover). And that's not a bad thing! I don't need to be thrown curve balls or be surprised at every corner when it comes to new music. Sometimes all I want is a summery, breezy psych country rock jam session. What's not to like about that? Rose City Band scratches that itch.
My Rating: 7 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Mariposa," "El Rio," "Porch Boogie," "Slow Burn," "Chasing Rainbows"
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