While walking to the Tractor on Saturday night, two women ahead of me on the sidewalk were having a loud and lively conversation. One wondered aloud who was playing at the Tractor and, as we approached the front door, they paused to peruse the posters on the window.
“Alexandra Rose,” she announced to her companion. “Is she good?”
Noticing that I and my own companion were headed inside, she turned to me and reiterated, “Is Alexandra Rose good?”
“Her name is Alessandra,“ I corrected (English degrees don’t make friends, but they do make for complete sentences), “and yes, she’s very talented. She has an exceptional voice.”
Between the crowded venue and my short attention span, I never found out if they decided to take me at my word or, instead, if they found something else to occupy their evening. But, I do know that if they chose to keep walking, they made a mistake.
Saturday’s show marked the release of Rose’s album You Are Gold. Formerly of Seattle’s The Kindness Kind, Rose’s solo project has been a steady progression and a passionate effort, something I’ve been lucky enough to observe flourish.
From small sets in a dimly lit art space owned by mutual friends, to her sold-out show at the Triple Door earlier this Spring, I’ve somehow managed to be a spectator of Rose’s independent musical timeline, and I’ve been nothing but consistently impressed.
The album itself is a concise nine tracks and possesses an easy-to-connect-to personable simplicity that’s well supported by Rose’s well developed compositions. Songs like “Happy Days” and “I’ll Put You Down,” with their romantic but jazzy vocals, embed themselves in the mind to later resurface and be hummed quietly over some mundane task or belted in the shower.
Rose’s album demonstrates her strength as both a singer and songwriter, but it is during those times when she has a guitar slung over her shoulder and a microphone standing in front of her that Rose reveals herself as a performer.
On stage, Rose brings each of her songs to life, playing with some like melodic toys and wielding others like powerful weapons that, in the hands of a lesser vocalist, could be terrifically dangerous.
Fun and bouncy on the album, “Gold” becomes fierce and bold, Rose driving each note with her powerful voice and deliberate flicks of the wrists. My favorite of the set was unquestionably “Victory March,” with its melancholy brand of folk-inspired harmonies and powerful chorus, showcasing Rose’s intimidating vocal prowess.
On the album, Rose’s voice is controlled and delivered; on stage, it is unleashed. Her music charges at you, sometimes with the crowded weight of a stampede and sometimes with the focused launch of a pouncing cat. She’s not afraid to edge away from the grace that usually accompanies a smokey timbre, and it adds a certain level of risk and exhilaration to her performance.
She sings and plays like she’s not afraid to make a mistake, which lends a compelling degree of substance to her victories and safe landings.
Despite all this, the thing that most strikes me about Rose isn’t her voice, down-to-Earth lyrics or FANTASTIC dress, but her authenticity. Alessandra doesn’t become a character when she steps on stage. She doesn’t lurk behind the scenes until it’s time to perform, or acknowledge the audience with monosyllabic platitudes. She is genuine. She holds back tears when she thanks the audience for helping her make her dreams come true, and she weaves through the crowd to say hello to friends and cheer on her openers.
She is Alessandra Rose when you meet her on the street and she is Alessandra Rose when she takes a hold of the microphone. Her passion is real and gracious, and it embodies her music and performance with something tangible and engaging that I, along with the rest of Rose’s supporters, look forward to seeing more of.
Photos: by George Bentley
