David is certainly not what you’d call pure country, the genre featuring more as a primary influence for a man who weaves delicately between folk, blues, rock, indie and pop as well as country, without making it sound as if he is artificially shoehorning them in. In fact, ‘Along The Way’ is one of my favorite new EPs by an independent artist, if only for its laid-back summery arrangements, simple but pretty melodies and gentle approach to genre crossing.
The EP launches to ‘Too Young To Know Better’ which is definitely a record highlight for me, for the dreamy harmonies, beautiful melodic hook and serene mood, coupled with lyrics full of regret for the leaving of a lover one summer. “I lost my way along the way, she was waiting and I never came… I was too young to know any better, that this love goes on and on” he sings, floating on top of delicate and perfectly placed instrumentation, his delivery sad but with a hindsight that seems to fulfil him for the lessons he learned. It is with a sigh, not a tear that he sings this. He continues the chilled out summery vibe on ‘Not Playing To Lose’ and ‘Slice of Heaven’ but ups the tempo somewhat, incorporating pedal steel and slide guitar to the percussive, acoustic sound, and his vocals come across grittier and huskier, more “rock”-orientated.
This vocal styling is a theme that is present elsewhere, such as in closer ‘Crashing Down’, whose arrangement takes a more rhythmic, dynamic feel and channels the blues and rock to paint a moodier, darker picture than the others are capable of. Yet this isn’t the only lyrically dark song on the EP, as ‘Appleton’ in all its jazzy sexuality describes an alcohol-infused romance, a quiet, woozy recklessness driving it through, these two tracks revealing David’s interpretation of the darker side of life.
He drifts further toward the cheery, folky country on ‘Strike Gold’, complete with prominent harmonica part, and there’s something wonderfully relaxing about the way the song contentedly plods along without having boring lyrics. In fact, David Rosales is a great lyricist. There’s a thoughtfulness and a profoundness about his words and phrases while keeping it simple enough to flow easily, and this results in a thoroughly solid song set, even when the lyrics take a back seat. This can be seen in the fabulous ‘Amelie’s Song’, a fairly standard love song that is the most “country” offering on the record, complete with banjo lead and a somewhat Mumford & Sons approach that builds all the way from scratch as it progresses.
What becomes very clear throughout ‘Along The Way’ is that David Rosales has the whole package. He is a talented vocalist, a nuanced songwriter, and has a producer that understands his sound and really knows how to balance the multiple tracks so that nothing feels chaotic or overpowered. He also has a stellar female backing vocalist who really adds something to ‘Too Young To Know Better’ and ‘Amelie’s Song’ in particular, and she should receive special note here. This is well-orchestrated, genre-less, laid-back summer listening, that you’ll want to carry on listening to well on into the winter and beyond. This guy is surely one to watch.
