Rosy Nolan

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Americana UK:
The UK Home for Alt-Country, Americana and Alternative

by Sian Claire Owen
The Rosy Nolan Band "Phantom Hymns" (Independent 2007)

The Rosy Nolan Band’s debut effort “Phantom Hymns” - A strong contender for one of this year's Must Have albums...

The Brooklyn-based Rosy Nolan Band release their debut album, “Phantom Hymns”, which has already caused quite a splash across the pond with their spiky, rustic, country-inspired style of music and Nolan’s disarmingly honest lyrics. Think Neko Case with the dramatic narrative of Stevie Nicks, and the Country Rock ethic of Neil Young, and apply that to Nolan’s powerful roller-coaster vocals which veer from the drunken bar ballads (“Drain the Poison”) to songs of tender vulnerability (“Lullabye”), and you may have hit “Phantom Hymns” on the head. Rosy Nolan might look like a China doll, but her voice is powerful enough to shatter glass at 300 meters, and judging by the content of her album, it’s very highly likely that she is made of sterner stuff.

Nolan’s charismatic vocals dance somewhat acrobatically over of the rolling stomp that the band produces on “Janina”, which then skips into the joyous rock n roll number “Filler”, which sees Nolan pleading to the listener, “I’m looking for someone/ to take what’s wrong and make it feel right”. The blinding “Red Flags” is simply epic and “Chewy Gum” is a sweet punky love song that’s instantly catchy and will stick to your brain after just one listen.
The Rosy Nolan Band brings various styles and genres to the table. Although there is a distinct Alt. Country feel, there are massive punk undertones that give their music quite a jagged edge. This isn’t surprising, given Nolan’s seemingly permanent involvement in various bands since age 14, where she started out bashing the drums for an all-girl garage punk band called The Rape Utic, spent time living and playing in London, Los Angeles, and probably many other places in between, before landing in New York. The world of experience comes out in her music if you pay enough attention.
As Nolan sings in “Human Cannonball”, “I’m trying… to touch the sun/ And if I burn, it’s just my turn”, which pretty much sums up the feel of this album. The Rosy Nolan Band is definitely, absolutely, utterly one of the bands to look out for during 2007.