“Will We Ever Rest?” by Rosalie James has one of those chord progressions that never fails to pull at your heartstrings. She crafts sentimental melodies on top of it, peppered with poetic lyrics. Plus, her vocal quality has this timeless, vintage warmth to it. You’ll find yourself lost in her soft tone, dreamy accompaniment, and poignant words.
Crisp bass and drums outline the intro. With a sparseness, Rosalie communicates the body of the chords effortlessly. In come the synths and guitars to fill in the cracks. This tiny climax is indicative of the arrangement of the rest of the piece, as Rosalie serves us subtle yet ever-gratifying builds. Her vocals come in with the perfect melody, spilling some melancholy words into the context of the music. The verse maintains this slow, steady pace that is actually quite difficult to make engaging–but it truly is. The listener floats along with the music toward lyrical elaboration, gloriously non-diatonic choruses, and an anthemic bridge/outro.
“The joy is in the end,” she repeats over a climbing, heroic set of chords. Her voice becomes more urgent with each iteration. What a lyric to finish off with–one that can simultaneously mean so many things to so many people, and is also so solid and final. It’s quite frankly a genius musical tool, wielded by an artist who obviously knows what she’s doing. The uneasiness turns into resolve, acceptance, and peace.
Don’t miss out on this beautiful track. Follow Rosalie James on your choice of social media or streaming service!
Written by Alyce Lindberg
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