Haroula Rose – Someday EP

The singer/songwriter continent is an overpopulated one with quantity outweighing quality as the normal state of affairs. Most artists who get lumped into this genre like to fancy themselves as something bigger than how they’re classified, but the fact of the matter is that they’re not an endangered species and if you throw a rock in any direction you’ll likely hit one. It really takes a special talent to shine with that cursed tag looming over your head and for every Neko Case, there’s a hundred females relentlessly strumming away in the corners of trendy coffee shops littered with preoccupied, unengaged patrons. Fortunately for Haroula Rose, she doesn’t fall into the category of the latter. Unfortunately for Haroula Rose, she’s also no Neko Case. However, falling somewhere in between isn’t necessarily a bad thing and meeting in the middle can deliver even if only on certain levels.

Rose’s songs resonate with a strong sense of familiarity and, while they might sound like you’ve heard them before through one of her countless musical counterparts on one hand, they charm with a lulled gentleness that’s easing to the ears on the other. Rose sings a decibel above a whisper, but compensates for her lack of power with consistently delivering near perfect pitch. Someday opens up with a title track that has a very light and breezy feel, but the lyrical content does not quite reflect the mood the melodies develop. The narrator is deeply unsatisfied with their current situation in life and daydreams of a future that brings with it a happier environment. It illustrates this glass half full mentality where “Someday” promises better things and what is ahead is greater than what is now.

“Love Will Follow” is the EP’s best offering. There’s a real nice tone to the finger picked acoustic guitar Haroula accompanies with her subdued vocals. She lists Nick Drake among her influences on her MySpace page and this track demonstrates that more than any other. It’s a heartfelt tune focusing on a love growing further apart with time. The subject of the song is lost, but the narrator lets him or her know that wherever they may go her “Love Will Follow.”

There’s five songs in total on the Someday EP. Of the three not mentioned, “The Leaving Song” is probably the best of the rest. It’s got a real slow-handed pedal steel tying things together and through it Rose showcases her country side. While Haroula Rose might find herself falling more towards the middle of the singer/songwriter spectrum, there’s enough promise on Someday to suggest she’s heading towards the Neko Case end.

Tagged as: singer/songwriter

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