Staff Reviews

Rose Elinor Dougall - Stellular

Review by Marc Burrows

Star-shaped indeed»

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Rough Trade Exclusive with a four track Bonus CD - 1. All At Once (Tom Furse Extrapolation), 2. Before We’re Strangers (Demo Version), 3. Suspended (Demo Version) and 4. All At Once (Martin Dubka remix). With a languid vocal bathed in isolation, an uneasy, inevitable shoulder shuffle of angular bass, synths and guitar, Stellular is a defiant soundtrack for a generation facing down global recession, political devision and personal insecurity. “I was thinking about some people I knew that were struggling to get a break” says Rose Elinor Dougall of the title track for her new album, “Thinking about the endurance test I was witnessing for others… waiting for something to change.” Stellular is the title-track of a shockingly confident new album, 11 tracks of classic songwriting, all defiantly modern, glowing with clarity and purpose. It is, in Rose’s own words ”something bolder, less apologetic, more decisive… a sophisticated pop record” It is an album rooted in the London lives that shaped its lyrics, the lives and experiences of Rose's friends as their 20s slipped by in a haze of late nights, broken hearts and struggles in an increasingly unforgiving capital. "The last decade in this country has been a really fucking weird time to be young. There's a theme of promises that are falling apart, and negotiating the wreckage of choices you might make that actually start to become less flippant and do have long-standing effects on your future.” Working with producer and friend Oli Bayston, AKA producer Boxed In, the pair started by crafting small ideas, a simple rhythm, drum noises, or a sound on a Korg Delta, exploring the "essential" part of Rose’s songwriting. The plan was to make the record from a limited sonic palette, to give everything a defined aesthetic. This philosophy stretches back to Rose’s days in The Pipettes - a band built on a manifesto for the perfect pop group by the KLF's Bill Drummond. There are obvious nods to Debbie Harry, The Smiths, “the women I love.. like Karen Dalton or Joni Mitchell or PJ Harvey or Roisin Murphy or Beth Gibbons” and Fleetwood Mac, particularly on the duet boy-girl duet Dive with Boxed In. This album is the culmination of the strange and hectic decade since the 19-year-old Rose jacked in college to go on tour with The Pipettes, made the bold move to go it alone with the introspective solo debut Without Why, then signed up to front Mark Ronson's touring band on a never-ending world tour. "It was quite an overwhelming experience," Rose says of the two-and-a-half-year Ronson outing. “A total whirlwind, playing to thousands of people and really performing. This was something my solo record hadn’t called for, there was a lot of me hiding behind my fringe and being indie, but then I was forced to the front of the stage. It was a bit of a sink-or-swim scenario.” "I've had to accept it's what I'm good at." she says. "In this country we see that as a bit vulgar, there's that natural sense of being apologetic. I wanted to be a bit more assertive." She laughs - "I've cut my fringe off”.
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