Baby Rose has finally unveiled their sophomore album with the release of Through and Through, arriving less than a month before her scheduled headlining tour dates begin. The Atlanta-based singer/songwriter does have a date at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on Jun. 16 that you won’t want to miss — a chance to catch her at such an intimately cloistered venue before her new record propels her onto much larger stages.
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Across Through and Through, Baby Rose reasserts her status as a modern-day Billie Holiday and Nina Simone. There are her singular vocals: acrobatically soaring a grand expanse of emotions, from the tenderly dulcet to the vulnerably heartwrenching. Or the soulfully oceanic mixture of genres that buoy her ardent lyricism throughout the album’s 11 tracks.
Opening with an earnest plea to not give up that’s tuned to this spacey, instrumentally-smooth ballad, “Go” sees Baby Rose fighting tooth and nail for a love that she’s unwilling to just let go of. Then there’s “Fight Club” (feat. Anne Muldrow) a broiling rhythm of twinkling tones and pattering percussion that breezily funks along to a stalwart commitment to herself. If there’s a contradiction to be found in the back-to-back placement of these two songs, it’s a fundamentally human one.
Much of the album is dedicated to uncovering and appreciating the multitudes that make up the whole of who Baby Rose is: someone who will unequivocally fight for love and also will never forget that at the end of the day, all they really have is themselves. But it also digs into her own insecurities — and not just romantic ones. Over the aqueous and dreamy soundscapes of “Paranoid,” she casts her ethereal murmurs, tracing her climb to the top in all its precarious terror; while “Stop the Bleeding” see her contorting her mellifluous vocals around a visceral musing about wanting to plug up the wounds of love.
But her expressions of uplifting passion are what you’re left with after a first listen of Through and Through. From the whispy allure of “Love Bomb” to the slow-burning “Dance With Me,” the record gushes with formidable love that lends itself beautifully to her R&B/gospel exaltations. The latter also arrives with a new music video, directed by Eric Saulsberry, that captures with such quiet intimacy the song’s affectionate appeals. As the video begins, we see Baby Rose walking away from an argument with their partner, splicing black-and-white scenes of their fight with colored ones that show them spending happier moments together. It’s a gut punch of a music video that characterizes the ups and downs of any relationship.
Baby Rose on the album: “It means everything. ‘Through and Through’ shows different sides of me; pieces to make up a whole. I dive through different sonic spaces, sometimes genres, to honor different phases of my journey. In a cyclical way, it serves as a reminder that everything, good and bad, is necessary, and every iteration of me deserves peace.”
See Baby Rose on tour at the Echoplex in Los Angeles on Jun. 16.
Visit Baby Rose on their Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Baby Rose tour
May 28 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
May 30 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall
May 31 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
June 1 – Detroit, MI @ Shelter
June 3 – Nashville, TN @ EXIT/IN
June 4 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
June 6 – New Orleans, LA @ Toulouse Theatre
June 7 – Dallas, TX @ Cambridge Room @ HOB
June 8 – Houston, TX @ Bronze Peacock @ HOB
June 10 – Denver, CO @ Marquis
June 11 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
June 13 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos
June 14 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
June 16 – Los Angeles, CA @ Echoplex
June 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
June 20 – Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
June 21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
June 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
June 25 – Washington, DC @ The Howard
Words: Steven Ward
Listen to Through and Through the new album from Baby Rose below!
