Stealing Earth

The original alternative rock band Stealing Earth has just moved up from the Boston metro area to join the scene here in Gloucester. The band will make its Gloucester debut tonight at 9 in The Dog Bar at 65 Main St. The band is singer-guitarist Heather Rose, lead guitarist Jen Morrison, drummer Nicole Wright and bassist Sam Luddy. Their lyrics cover topics such as the state of the economy, state of the Earth and the state of the love goin' on. The 20-somethings intertwine their music with the stories of their lives, from wild nights in nature to cityscapes to bold ambitions. For information, visit www.stealingearth.com. - Gloucester Times

Heather presents this contemplative piece of anger thinking about the organizations that spend millions on advertising to plead for 5 cents of your money each day to help the children. This does not compute. Enough to make those who believe in humanity and the earth to turn red with anger. I’m with Heather, and it’s great that the music is presented in way to make the meditation approachable by many people.

Posted 5-5-09

Direct Link:
http://eartaste.blogspot.com/2009/05/white-roses-green-gone-red.html - Eartaste.blogspot.com

White Roses–Spark the Chain: Heather Rose can play a range of instruments from guitar (acoustic and electric) to bass, piano, synthesizers, saxophone and percussion, but it’s her voice that’s her greatest gift and the biggest stand-out on her second EP. Just as she’s proficient at almost every instrument she touches her voice, too, ranges from warm folksy to rock infused growls and even jazz-like in quality. The band the White Roses serves as the vehicle for all of Heather’s musical escapes, but the team of players changes depending on the style and situation. Her music in Spark the Chain focuses on social change, problems in society, as well as, her personal dilemmas. Songs like “Red” highlight the hypocrisy of the coffee industry. “My Little Star” faces the torment of teen stars, and “Beautiful Life” illustrates the delusions that many young people seem to create. However, Rose doesn’t make this album purely a political force, in stead she also transports listeners into her personal life reflecting on lost love, regret and childhood memories. Rose is currently studying at as a Professional Music major at Berklee College of Music and continues to refine her skills both as a songwriter and performer. Her voice is powerful and magnificent and is definitely the strong suit amongst the album. Probably the greatest flaw in the album is it’s inability to focus on one subject… love, political injustice, etc. It tends to bounce the listener along with too many bumps in the road to really get comfortable and fall in love with Rose’s power packed voice and exceptionally skilled attempts at different genres. 4.5 McRiprock’s.

Posted 4-23-09
Direct Link: http://www.austindaze.com/2009/04/23/mcriprocks-lonestar-sixpack-project-17/ - www.austindaze.com

Spark the Chain

White Roses

Available from CD Baby.

A review written for the Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange
by Mark S. Tucker
(progdawg@hotmail.com).

Heather Rose has her tongue so far in her cheek that you couldn't be blamed for thinking she might be making a porn flick…and the irony of that image would suit her just fine, as several of the cuts in Spark the Chain are almost grim in their imagery and innuendo, especially My Little Star, a song about stage mothers. On the other hand, she also wrote an ode to Kermit the Frog and all our Sesame Street Days. You never know quite what Heather's going to come up with as you listen to Spark the Chain.

Big City Blues is almost a slinkier answer to Marvin Gaye's Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler), all nightclub loungey and kinda June Christy-ish. Ms. Rose possesses abundant cool, and the following track, Beautiful Lie, reinforces the conviction. Still…there's a problem to Spark the Chain and Rainy Day clearly shows what it is. Heather's style and compositions demand a big production, and Ed Goldfarb's keyboards try hard to provide it, succeeding nicely on that cut, a really beautiful song with its layered orchestral strains, but the success only more clearly contrasts lacks earlier in the disc. Rose's voice is marvelous throughout the tune and on the follower, matrixed as it should be in lush environments, not to mention the fact that she works very well when bouncing off a larger 3-D ambiance anyway, but comes up a bit short otherwise…not that the vocals are missing but rather the accompaniments.

There's much to like here, not the least of which is the largely delicate beauty of Rose's voice (a tone that isn't always best displayed in pop-ier moments), an instrument which reminds me of Lesley Duncan's solo work brought to its fullest powers, and her acumen in crafting melodies is smooth and attractive (listen especially to Meadow of Memories). Thus, my comments shouldn't be taken to disparage what's truly breathtaking here, but the difference between the start of the CD and what eventuates at the end is fairly sharp. Had it all been in that later mode…wow!

* Spark the Chain
* My Little Star
* Green Gone Red
* Kermit in the POnd
* Big City Blues



* Beautiful Lie
* Rainy Day
* Meadow of Memories
* The Bus Song
* Drinking Alone

All songs written by Heather Rose except Meadow of Memories (Rose / Rose).

Edited by: David N. Pyles
(dnpyles@acousticmusic.com)

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Copyright 2009, Peterborough Folk Music Society.
This review may be reprinted with prior permission and attribution.

Direct link:
http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p05537.htm - www.acousticmusic.com

Last Friday I promised you a week of female artists and true to my word here we go. I'd like to point out that I WOULD feature more gals, but MOST of the stuff I get sent is by blerks!!

I don't normally review albums on these pages (I save that for Gondwana Sound) but I received a CD recently all the way from California that not only impressed me with the strength of its material, but summed up what this site is all about.* So I am forgoing my blogging frippery and giving it the space it deserves.

White Roses is the name that 20 year old music student Heather Rose records under. The album Spark the Chain showcases her impressive songwriting, playing and singing talents, which encompass folk, pop, blues, jazz and, as on this track, reggae.

Lyrically it touches on green issues, getting trashed on your own and, most poignantly, those seedy American pageant contests.

The arrangements are solid and the instrumentation more than capable and although I'd recommend that she reigns in her range of singing styles to create a more structured finished product, it's a mighty fine record for one so young (god I hope that doesn't come across as patronizing).

Listen to more (please do) and purchase Spark The Chain

Give us your track reactions

Back to the silly stuff tomorrow.

Pip pip

Ade

* It also helped that Heather sent me an email saying TunA was one of the few sites she'd found that she thought took unsigned artists seriously. Smart girl!!

Posted 5-10-09
Direct Link:http://www.tunatheday.com/go/mix/showmix(487)
- www.tuneatheday.com