This isn’t the first USB release I’ve received. It is, however, the first ultra-slimline USB that slots into a credit card type thing. I’m a sucker for novelty and innovation, and this appeals because it’s less likely to get lost than a USB, and has the additional benefit of artwork and track-listing giving it a stronger visual aspect. Emblazoned with the band’s name and logo, there’s no picking it up and thinking ‘what’s this?’
That said, the same question applies to the music it contains. And how do we feel about an emerging hip-hop / nu-metal crossover act in 2018?
A rippling piano provides the intro to ‘Sticks & Stones’ before the low-slung, bass-led riffery rumbles in. On the one hand, it’s simple, in terms of chord structures, but there are layers of sound and some nifty hooks that render it effective. Lyrically, the issues addressed are obvious enough – ‘High Tech Low Life’ turns the attention to social media and the complex relationship between the on-line presence and the person behind it.
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Elsewhere, on ‘Hallelujah’, soft harpsichord paves the way for the most overtly commercial track of the six, with a big, bouncy chorus driven by a smoothly overdriven guitar with synth backing and clean vocal.
But it’s no Limp Bizkit or Korn rehash, and as much as it has heavy echoes of that late 90s / early noughties period, Rosen offer something that’s no slave to a tired retro template: not only is the material lyrically and musically articulate, Urban Dance Squad and Faith No More provide more relevant touchstones.
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