Rosematter - Rosematter CD Review

I’m surprised that it’s taken this long for a blatant cash-in attempt on the Paramore craze to come along. Not only do Rosematter try to be the next big female fronted pop-punk band, but they gratuitously rip-off those ever loved popsters Fall Out Boy, tongue-in-cheek song titles and all. It’s hard to listen to this album without being overwhelmed by the notion that you now know what the audible manifestation of mediocre sounds like.

Before this album gets utterly dismantled, it should be mentioned that the majority of the songs on this album are upbeat, bouncy, moderately catchy, and totally mom-friendly. Most of that stems simply from the fact that Rosematter plays in a genre of music where 90% of the bands share these traits to begin with. They’re inherently a part of the pre-requisites that every pop-punk band is require to have in order to simply get started.

That being said… where do we start? Before you even listen to the band, you’ll be confronted with the horribly unfunny song titles on the back cover. Some gems are “I Bet She Gives Great Helmet”, “Do Re Egon”, and “I Drink to Prepare for a Fight (Tonight I’m Very Prepared)”. Let’s all agree right now that quasi-ironic song titles are long past their expiration date. All they do is inform a potential listener that a band is trying to be more clever than they actually are.

As you listen to each song you’ll soon realize that you’re hearing the exact same basic song structure over and over again with only some slight variations here and there that attempt to trick you into thinking that each of these songs are uniquely their own. Don't be fooled. The most blatant element that is shared amongst all of the songs is the tempo – that mid-paced, pop-punk, sing-a-long pace that is fine for a song or two on an album but gets played out all too fast when overused.

Of course, let’s keep in mind that we are operating in the pop-punk realm so the conventions of the genre should be expected. For a relatively simple genre, however, Rosematter pull a Lynyrd Skynyrd and have three guitarists in the band, even though you can't actually identify any songs that use more than a maximum of two guitar lines. And, in all honesty, there's very little noticeable use of multiple guitar lines. The majority of the album could have been played by a single guitarist.

The majority of the album could also be viewed as what would happen in an alternative reality where Relient K had Haley Williams as a lead singer. The only problem here is that Katie Kolos doesn’t quite have the range that Williams has with Paramore, which only perpetuates the monotony of the album.

I’m sure Torque Records saw this release as a good idea, but I don’t think that Rosematter will be able to garner enough attention or staying power to really matter beyond a quick flash in the pan. Other than Paramore there hasn’t been another female fronted pop-punk band to make a significant sales splash and Rosematter surely won't be rivaling the current kings (and queen) for their throne.