 One of Chemikal Underground's most recent (and proudest) signings, De Rosa hail from the same neck of the woods as us (darkest Lanarkshire) - a fortuitous conicidence from Chemikal's point of view, as they spent their formative years rehearsing and recording in our Chem19 Studio at Hamilton. In fact it's Andy Miller and Shaun Tallamy, who work at Chem 19, who deserve all the credit as far as De Rosa are concerned: signing the band to their fledgling Gargleblast label before paying for them to record (and in Andy's case produce) their debut album 'Mend'. Now, Chemikal Underground, being the poaching bastards that we are, heard how great the album was sounding and, desperate to bask in as much vicarious glory and misappropriated credit as possible, promptly licensed the album from Gargleblast and have passed De Rosa off as ours ever since.
After hearing 'Mend' a few times, after you've grown accustomed to their way with irresistable melodies and memorably evocative lyrics, you'll understand why we were so quick to align ourselves with this extraordinary band. Fans of The Go-Betweens, Red House Painters, Talking Heads and Gang Of Four will appreciate De Rosa's shared enthusiasm for a twisted melody, a thought-provoking turn of phrase and an unconventional approach to the classic song structures of classic 'pop'.
An intelligent, literate and exhilarating band who encapsulate everything Chemikal Underground loves in a band. Adored by MOJO and fellow lanarkshire luminaries Mogwai, De Rosa are a band that can melt hearts while exercising your brain - do you really need any more encouragement to check them out than that? |
