D L Rossi, Crooked Love, Vol. 1
There's no such thing as too far down if you're a
songwriter. I feel bad about what happened to
D L Rossi, but I have to say that seldom has pain sounded so good as Crooked
Love Volume 1. The songs come out of the dissolution of his marriage
and the fact that Volume 2 is in the works tells you that he didn't choose what
happened and he's not over it. There's no anger here—just honest and raw
emotion.
It's hardly news that heartache and music go together like
cold and winter, but this hurts-so-bad EP stands out because of Rossi's honeyed
vocals, his careful song crafting, and the stellar band that backs him. (Rossi's
pretty darn good as a solo act as well. ) He's originally from Detroit and now
lives in Nashville, but there's more Tom Petty in his grooves than cookie
cutter industry processing. The other good news is that the sheer joyfulness of
Rossi's music indicates he has crossed the healing border is emerging out the
other side. Or, as he puts it,
"Figuring it Out/The best I can."
The shimmery and watery tones in that one come off as hopeful and alembic.
Rossi constructs earworm tunes, but of the kind you're glad
to have rattling about in your belfry. You could dance to "Like a Heart Needs Beats" and the melody line is positively infectious, even when he sings
lines such as: When the fire burned
out/Cool came down/Searching through the darkness/Looking for a way out. And
who can argue with sentiments like: Passion
should could from way down deep/You should need it like a heart needs beats.
This arrangement and several others go big, but they never overwhelm the
vocals. It's not easy to steer a tune that's simultaneously sweet and muscular,
but Rossi pulls it off. Add to this his uncanny ability to write lines that
just grab you. The album title comes from "Round and Round," which
opens with a plaintive recap: Four walls
and I'm brokenhearted/ All we had
from the start/You are who you are/You're stubborn as hell/And you're all that
I want. Eventually the composition builds to the confessional: But I wouldn't change a thing/About our
crooked love. Check out the short but blistering electric guitar riff that
follows, then a dial back. Rossi expresses his psychic journey musically: calm,
storm, calm, storm… balance. The same blend of desire and sunny days ahead
comes across in "Everyone." And, later, the truly honest reminder
that some days are harder than others: You
wake up a ghost and start a haunting. Is the ghost lost love, or Rossi? Yes
is the only possible answer.
This album has all the elements I look for in great songs:
authentic emotion, hooky melodies, robust instrumentation, catch-your-attention
lyrics, strong accented beats, and a vocalist singing like he means it.
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