Rosali are a band: singer, songwriter and guitarist Rosali Middleman likes to emphasize this in her interviews. But it is a band that clearly revolves around Middleman, her brilliant songwriting and her strong, yet ethereal voice.
Rosali first caught my eye when her name appeared on various “albums you may have missed” lists in 2021 for her quite brilliant but still definitely under-the-radar album “No medium”.
Rosali have rarely graced this site, which is somewhat indicative of Middleman’s aimless career to date. She has been making music for decades, collaborating with other musicians and moving on the fringes of the indie world, preferring experimentation to any commercial urge. Middleman grew up in a family of seven children whose parents are musicians and Grateful Dead fans. She and her siblings sang together and learned various instruments at various stages, so it seems she has always been surrounded by music.
She spent the first part of her music career in and around Philadelphia. She emerged from the DIY loft-bedroom post-pop scene in 2016 with a few more polished singer-songwriter albums that were well-received but didn’t give her much of a boost. That changed around 2020, when she teamed up with Omaha-based, Crazy Horse-esque indie rock band Mowed Sound.
Middleman and the band brought out the best in each other, which had a remarkable effect. The result was the album “No media”, and numerous highly regarded year-end lists for the best album of 2021. Unfortunately, the Covid lockdown thwarted their progress, but the acclaim for the album was so great that Middleman left her beloved Philly to move to Omaha to be closer to her new bandmates. It has proven to be a good move.
Earlier this year, Rosali signed a contract with Merge Records and has now released the outstanding new album “Bite down”. The Neil Young-inspired guitar work may be a little more restrained than on the previous album, but the songwriting and playing of this excellent band has only gotten better. If you enjoyed recent releases from Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff, MJ Lenderman or similar, check out “No media” or “Bite down”two of my favorite albums of the last few years.
