Local Reviews: SubRosa

SubRosa
Swans Trapped in Ice EP
Self-Released
Street: 09.09
SubRosa = Melvins + Audrey Horne + Ai Aso
The ever-changing lineup of SubRosa has yielded some musical surprises over their brief recording history, and they continue to surprise with Swans Trapped in Ice, their latest three-song EP. The dual violin works very well at rounding out the mood created by plodding bass and crunchy guitars, but this release unfortunately falls a bit flat. The songwriting (and musicianship, for that matter), is absolutely top-notch, but this thing needs heft. Balls. Volume. In essence, SubRosa needs to take their excellent songs and showcase them on a recording the way they showcase them live: moody, loud, and unapologetic. I think once the band releases themselves from the quiet restraint that is far too obvious on this release, they’ll find that heaviness suits them.