Rosemary and Garlic: Artist of the Month

Rosemary and Garlic

A Step Outside

Winter is a time that makes many of us introspective, so why not have some music that matches the mood? A Step Outside is the third recording of the Dutch trio Rosemary and Garlic, and selections from it and the previous two releases are all over YouTube.

(Identity of dark-haired woman unknown)

Their music gets labeled as “alternative” and for once the alt label isn’t contrived. In all honesty, I’m not sure what to call this group. For me it’s music that makes me drift, sway, and lose myself in its ethereal beauty–a bit like “Dreamer,” one of their songs. Rosemary and Garlic is fronted by vocalist/acoustic guitarist Anne van den Hoogen. She sings in English and her voice has a rare quality of clarity that one might associate with a young Judy Collins. Her phrasing is also reminiscent of Collins. The repertoire, however, is markedly different.

One of the ways to evaluate a group is how well they can approximate on stage what we hear in a studio recording. There’s no question here, as all the tracks I recommend are from live shows in Amsterdam and Hamburg. Van den Hoogen has a professed love of 18^th century romanticism. We hear definite traces of that in the beautiful melody of “The Dancers.” It, like everything the band does is quiet, contemplative, and suggestive of fragility; “Blue Boy” also embodies all of those qualities.  Instrumentation is minimal: van den Hoogen’s guitar, Dionne Nijsten’s cello or percussion, and keyboards, percussion, and a bit of electronica that suggests nature sounds from Daf Smolenaers. The choice of instruments might evoke an early music small combo, but though classical music is here and there, it comes out in small dollops rather than in sustained form and is most noticeable in some of Smoleanaers’ piano cascades and arpeggios. A personal favorite is “The Kingfisher,” which is mysterious and wintry in feel. Yes, I know my frosty adjective seems out of place for a song named after a bird that (in most places) migrates to warmer climes when the temperature cools, but the song has a moody wrapper that feels more misty than sun-dappled. It does, however, simulate flight when Smolenaers picks up the pace on the keys and Nijstein’s cello fills in the spaces.

Another admirable trait on this band is that it’s never in a rush. A new version of “Take This Hand” features pulsing electronics and keys for nearly a minute and a half before the vocals come in. Those pulses serve to set an emotive frame that’s neither drone nor étude. It’s already a gorgeous melody by the time van den Hoogen sings. You could easily think of her vocals as a fourth instrument, though there is never an attempt of any of the three to embellish or launch into a virtuosic breakout. This is music without filler; Rosemary and Garlic go with what they have and have the wisdom not to toss unneeded elements into the mix to artificially enhance it.

Anne van den Hoogen

And let’s face it, you sure don’t need much when you have a singer like Ms. Van den Hoogen. She’s reminiscent Loreena McKennitt on “Old Now,” though van den Hoogen prefers to channel a song with less drama than McKennitt. Again, a Judy Collins analogy suggests itself. Both opt to interpret a song rather than stage it. Please don’t slap a New Age label on this music–it has far more depth. More apt analogies would include the music of Nick Drake, Sufjan Stevens, or Laura Marling–the last of whom is a big fan of Rosemary and Garlic. Beyond that the only other label I have is this one: just frickin’ beautiful. If all of this weren’t enough, at times Ms. Van den Hoogen looks a bit like Cate Blanchette.

If you know someone who likes dreamy music, consider this one as a holiday gift. If you like what you hear, maybe you could ask Santa to tuck a download or two into your holiday sack. If, of course, you’ve been good!

Rob Weir