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Building on its roots as the solitary 4-track recording project of songwriter Kevin Klausen, Rosey Dust has emerged with the debut single—“Keep for Life”—as a fully realized rock band. With casual concessions to iconic artists like Big Star and Teenage Fanclub, “Keep for Life” (and it’s b-side “She’s the One”) juxtapose ripping hard rock solos with the breezy soundscapes of 1970's guitar pop, meanwhile capturing a sort of triumphant sadness we can all relate to; a wide-eyed, yet apathetic reflection of that big looming question—“what do all these feelings mean?”—without providing any concrete answers.
Our take: Debut single from this power-pop band. The a-side is a big-guitar, classic-sounding power-pop track that reminds me of Big Star or Tim-era Replacements with its chiming guitars and energetic (but not punky) rhythm. Songcraft is important to Rosey Dust as “Keep for Life” is a long track with a lot of parts, but the song has a logical forward movement that sounds perfect for mid-80s alternative rock radio… if such a thing existed. The b-side takes a similar approach, but slows down the tempo a hair and ups the guitars’ shred and fuzz levels into the J Mascis region. I don’t think Rosey Dust is for the punks necessarily, but these are two superb power pop tunes.