Rosemary nods upon the grave are a brand new emotional hardcore band from Savannah, Georgia. Their first single “I remember halloween” was appropriately released September of last year, just in time for the spooky season. The title of which I will forever hear sung in Danzig’s one-of-a-kind drawl. An invocation which was certainly intentional on Rosemary’s part. Now they are back with their debut EP.
Featuring members of the flourishing local scene in Savannah, including Nat Lacuna of The Holy Ghost Tabernacle Choir, Rosemary nods upon the grave have a modern take on a familiar sound: devastating and heavy with a heartfelt relatability. Recalling the likes of Suis La Lune, Envy, heaven in her arms, Daïtro, and I Hate Myself. Like all good screamo, Rosemary are comfortable dipping their toes into the various overlapping pools of hardcore, metal, and post-rock influences.
On the opening track “In French” the vocals are low in the mix. Not quite drowned out by the instrumentation, but subdued and distant. There is a driving force to the guitar and drum work that pushes the momentum ever forward. “In French” is a propulsive launchpad. In contrast, “War-Torn” starts a little slower and has a stop-go feel to it. The guitar work here is especially emotive, backing up the vocal bellows. The guitar melody closing the track out is stripped away of all embellishments save a fuzzed out hum of feedback. Right up to the final strum, “War-Torn” is a showcase of conveying emotion through simple but effective choices in composition.
“Bonaventure” falls somewhere in between “In French”’s power and “War-Torn”’s emotion. The longest track on the EP at a little over three minutes “Bonaventure” takes its time building up. There’s that atmospheric post-rock influence at play. But it’s through the middle portion and toward the back end of this song that the emotional hardcore aspect is front and center in an all out angsty crescendo. The obvious highlight of the EP is “Halloween”, but “Bonaventure” packs a punch all its own.
The Sleeper by Edgar Allan Poe, from which the band’s name derives, is about the body of a beloved lady being laid to rest. ‘The rosemary nods upon the grave; The lily lolls upon the wave; Wrapping the fog about its breast, The ruin moulders into rest;’ much like the poem, Rosemary’s work is suffused with gothic romanticism entombed with a touch of morbidity. The EP’s artwork of delicate hands portrayed in a grim inky black further cements this flirtation with horrific beauty. Screamo is a lens through which we look at pain magnified. Emotions expressed without reservation on a canvas of distortion and drum kicks.
The first thing I was immediately taken with by “I remember halloween” when I heard the demo version Rosemary released last year was the hauntingly raw vocals. Nearly black metal in their anguished cries of ‘Why can’t I be something more?!’, an effect which is largely maintained on the ‘cleaned up’ version of the track featured on their EP. “I remember halloween” claws and grates along with the comfort of a running blender against a brick wall. An assault upon the soul of palpable grief and rage pushed outward. It is self-evident why “Halloween” was chosen as their first single as it closes out this EP with a whaling bang.
Rosemary’s attention to detail and joy of expression went beyond the basics of a CD and cassette release to make something truly special. A limited artisanal lathe cut version of EP1 put out by Severed Records out of Florida really gave the band the chance to show off. These are one of a kind, or as the record label put it:
‘Beautiful work of art both visually and musically. There’s nothing more special than a band that wears everything they believe in on their sleeves. A very devoted group of people putting everything out into the world with so much raw emotion and ambition.‘
Handmade and poetic, these lathes transform what would be a simple physical object into a treasured relic imbued with words and sound not unlike an incantation.
EP1 has the feeling of a demo. Not so much in the sense of rough quality, having been professionally recorded with mixing and mastering by Miri Rosenau of Heaven Thru Violence, everything sounds great. More so in its brevity. As a concise but forceful statement of ‘We are here. This is what we are capable of.’ In this way these tracks have the cutting edge of a demo. Taken as an opening salvo, EP1 is an attention grabbing declaration of artistic fearlessness. What the future holds for Rosemary nods upon the grave remains a mystery. But the interest they have generated will certainty follow growing alongside them wherever their explorations lead from here.
