JO ROSE

Although Jo Rose originates from Manchester, it’s on the other side of the world in the honey coloured Tennessee sunshine that his voice and music belongs. He has spent the last year travelling between Manchester, The Scottish Highlands and the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, writing his debut album Spurs, which was released at the end of last month.

The song we’re treating you to today is the album opener ‘Balcony Doors’. It’s an intimate piece with great acoustics. It sounds like a secret performance for listener, in a log cabin. The bulk of the song is built on Jo’s strong sounding guitar, behind a gorgeous heavenly ascending organ. Jo’s vocals are calming, not unlike the charm of Annie Eve or Luke Sital-Singh and his lyrics stay with the theme we get from the organ, portraying whoever’s door he is standing at as heaven. It all sounds beautiful and it’s impossible not to smile when there are lyrical gems like “I held my breath, yes I waited for rain, I’d have baptized myself and prayed that I’d be taken away”.

Spurs is available to buy or listen to in full on his Soundcloud and you should, as it’s chock full of irresistible Americana and Country riffs. Jo also joins First Aid Kit on tour this month in the UK , so if you want to brighten up your city for one night as we head into Autumn, there’s no better way to do so than seeing Jo Rose.

Words by Scott Hastie

Tipped by Chris Horkan