Ezza Rose – Through the Music Box

contributor: Ed Thanhauser, June 24, 2009

As the summer finally kicks in here in Portland, and the sun at last starts poking its head out like some rare, cautious prairie mammal, it seems that the spring rains have borne fruit: everyone’s popping out their debut albums all at once! There was the excellent and surprising debut of Come Gather Round Us a few weeks back, the garageband magic of newcomer Jenny Wayne, and now, at last, the debut of local songstress Ezza Rose is finally in my hands. Written on the front is “ON THE DL” in hasty cursive. On the back, “TOP SECRET LISTENING FOR ED.” You’d think I’d just gotten my hands on wiretaps from Homeland Security… It’s clear that Rose keeps a tight grip on a tight ship when it comes to her music. Despite having just turned 21, she’s already a veritable fixture in the folk community, frequently gracing the whole range of stages our city has to offer, from the humblest of open mics to grander venues like the new Mississippi Studios.

Make no mistake, Ezza Rose’s ambitions are hardly misplaced. If I were to ascribe the word “potential” to just one budding songwriter, of the thousands that inhabit our singer/songwriter-saturated city, she would get it hands down. Her smoky, confident and mature vocal style, her clever songwriting and keen sense for melody belie her few years. So despite her youth, and professedly minimal technical command of most instruments that she writes with, she has already carved out for herself a distinct voice among the ranks of Portland songstresses. Two primary musical styles split Through the Music Box almost exactly 50/50. Alternating between a kind of noir gypsy-jazz and a handful of pensive, plucky crooners, what the album lacks in diversity it makes up in pure prettiness. Rose’s superlative voice cuts above every single mix, graceful, sultry and charismatic. Though she may swap guitar for ukulele or banjo for some tonal variety, the end result is usually only two or three simple plucked chords – a good choice, as it leaves her remarkable vocals unfettered and focused.

If there’s something lacking, it’s the low end. Though there are numerous tracks with improvised and often cleverly unorthodox auxiliary percussion (for example, Hoyt Emerson contributes the rhythmic sounds of an old typewriter on several tracks), and the beautiful sighing cello of Aubrey Weber is lavished throughout, the livelier songs like “Hoist,” “Platonic Lover” and “Clowns” seem to cry out for a fuller arrangement…perhaps an upright and a brush jazz kit (maybe even an occasional drunken Balkan horn section?) to bring them into proper focus. Even the haunting waltz melody of “Daymeres” seems to hang aimless without a rustling rhythm section to anchor it. As a result, Through the Music Box’s real stand-outs are the sparser, simpler tracks that can easily shine regardless of arrangement. Ditties like “Storyteller” and “Rag Doll” hang on beautifully tumbling melodies and effortless charm that will remain firmly stuck in your head for days after even just one listen. By the same token, the whispery guitar in the closer, “Jonathan,” will mesmerize you, make you stop whatever you’re doing and just lose yourself in it. Oddly enough though, it’s the “secret track” all the way at the end that will blow you right out of your seat. With it’s eerie reverb, flawless yet ephemeral harmonies and haunting lyrics, it is everything an Ezza Rose song can and should be. Like a sneak-peak, (ON THE DL, shhhhh!) it promises the truly amazing things that are sure to come from one of Portland’s most promising young talents.