Rosie and Me sound like they've been roaming the Heartland of America for their entire lives passing through small towns and country stores, driving through fields of flowers, taking lazy cruises down creeks and rivers and writing songs about it all. What's truly amazing about all of this is 1) they haven’t done that and 2) that Rosie and Me are about as far away from the American Heartland as one can be, you see, they're from Brazil. Originally just a duo, the band now consists of Rosanne Machado (vocals/acoustic guitars/banjo), Ivan Camargo (acoustic guitars), Thomas Kossar (electric guitars), Guilherme Miranda (bass guitars) and Tiago Barbosa (drums/perc). Together, the band blends simple, introspective lyrics with soft female vocals and the effect is just gorgeous. Their album, Arrow Of My Ways, is a pastoral, mellow, countrified record that believe it or not I quite enjoyed.
Arrow Of My Ways is good in the same way that Jose Gonzalez records are great; their intimacy, warm feelings, and heartfelt songs will warm the cockles of your heart and win you over. Rosie and Me have a penchant for writing unobtrusive material that's rustic, hushed, and so fragile that it sounds like the aural equivalent of fine china. This is delicate heartfelt stuff that's tranquil and rural and from the gently plucked banjos to Rosanne's soft whispers the record is a meandering thing of beauty. While I generally dread folk, Americana and the like there's something about the level of closeness and warmth Rosie and Me convey that makes Arrow Of My Ways so good.
Rosie and Me have taken something completely American and made it their own. It's a sound that's crossed borders and even continents and proves that music is the universal language. Fully in touch with their inner Camera Obscura and their love of Americana they've created a rustic and pretty landscape that's a joy to roam around in. Arrow Of My Ways is a pleasant record whose closeness, introspective nature, and quiet sounds are beyond charming.
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