Arrica Rose & the …’s - Technicolour Blue (2021)

With musical influences containing such diverse names as Billie Holiday, Tom Waits, Television, Edith Piaf, Joy Division and the Andrews Sisters, it should come as no surprise to find that Arrica Rose & the …’s (that’s said as the dot dot dots to the uninitiated), have produced an eclectic EP that is almost impossible to define in terms of genre or style. The PR material that accompanies ‘Technicolour Blue’ describes it as “retro-tinged pop to Americana balladry to vintage rock ‘n’ roll” but more important than trying to pigeon hole it in a genre is the fact that this is a very enthralling EP.

Of the six songs, five are originals and they all display a high level of lyrical dexterity as they cleverly weave their way through a series beautifully told, semi-personal, emotional stories. The EP opens with the anthemic ‘The High’ which focuses on living in the moment and savouring the highs while ignoring the lows, before moving on to the poignant ‘Undo me Slowly’ and its story of the inexorable demise of a romance as Arrica Rose exquisitely describes the slow, but inevitable ending of this deep relationship, “What might I do with all this wasted time, Time spent pining for what will never be mine, Wonder what I might find, It’s the end of the line not the end all things, But the mind plays tricks while the heart’s not listening”. Stunning!

The one non-original song is also a doozy. ‘Over the Rainbow’, is an intricately conceived mash-up of the track title along with ‘For What it’s Worth’, and ‘Ohio’ all coming together as a seamless and re-imagined modern day protest song, and if the originals weren’t so well known, you’d never know they had been stitched together to form such a cohesive whole.

Arrica Rose coined the name the …’s to describe the ever-changing, collaborative nature of her musical project and a substantial cast of musicians contributed to ‘Technicolour Blue’ and with Dan Garcia once again on production, mixing and mastering duties, as well as co-writing ‘Kaleidoscope’, they have managed to create an engaging and ethereal soundscape that never fails to draw you into the innermost heart of the songs.