When I first heard about Karen Rockower’s (pronounced “Rock-Hour”) day job as a tattoo artist and saw her album cover with her sitting there with tatted sleeves and dark hair, I didn’t know what to expect from her debut solo album, Whales Standing. But I did, very wrongly, anticipate a Kat von D-esque, butch, tranny, scratchy voice to emit from my speakers. I was pleasantly surprised though, when out came a sweet voice very similar to that of Regina Spektor’s light and airy voice … Only lightier and airy-er. But don’t let the sweetness fool you; Rockower’s rock background (she’s venturing on her own after playing guitar and singing for rock band Bugs in the Dark) and big imagination will surprise you in her solo debut.
The album starts off with the eerie “Drawing Roses,” where we instantly get a glimpse into Rockower’s dark and dreamy, yet somehow sweet and innocent musical stylings. The first lyrics we hear are “Like prongs around a stone/We’re holding on to what we know/I can guess what you might say/I want the dress, I want the day/I’ve been drawing roses/Yeah, yeah, yeah.” The strong horns, eerie thunderous wind and “shoo-wah-shoo-wah” can definitely be confusing but it’s such an interesting combination of sounds and emotions.
The third track of the album, and my personal favorite, is “Evelyn.” Here we hear almost cacophonous key work juxtaposing her 1930’s style voice; and by that I mean it has that (dare I say it again?) sweet and almost child-like appeal to it. I love the honesty of an embarrassing scene playing out on a drunken night and the play on words in the lyrics of the chorus: “Thought you were different, what was I thinking?/Should never have told you when we were drinking/Don’t take the bottle, don’t give me water/Don’t think you’ll stop me by calling my mother/This is my night, I’ll have it with you/Saying goodbye is all you can do/One more shot/Give me one more shot/One more shot/Get rid of what I got/All of my laughing, I was just faking/All of my love, you were just taking” This little ditty containing clever word play proves that Rockower knows what she’s doing and isn’t just some pretty face out to make a buck.
Another highlight off of Whales Standing is the creepy “Little Heart.” Starting off with more eerie background noise, a stalking single-string guitar melody and that voice of hers, giving the song a ghostly vibe. The chorus builds up with more guitar and big drums to complete the feeling that has potential to give you the chills.
Whales Standing is almost a contradiction of itself with the dark vibes Rockower implements using her music and her uncharacteristically pleasant and light voice lightening it up somehow. Karen Rockower’s solo debut is strangely captivating and a great start for this former lead singer. The music itself is great and the lo-fi style and her visually stunning songwriting makes Rockower a potential stand-out performer!
Whales Standing will be released THIS WEDNESDAY (Aug. 25) and she will be a guest on the famed Enter The Shell Show to be released the week of September 5th.
Buy Karen’s New Album from Amazon, Click Here To Get It!
Check out Karen’s Youtube, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter pages.
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Yes! I have been waiting for this solo album to come out! Your article perfectly captured the experience I have watching her perform. A contradiction. Her voice and lyrics are so sweet and disarming, masking a tiger.
Me-ow! You’re so right! I would love to catch her live some time; I heard her shows are pretty fierce.
I am psyched for this record to come out. I was fortunate enough to catch her playing a acoustic set at a small little bar in Brooklyn. Cannot WAIT to hear her play plugged in on Wednesday at the record release. Talented and hot, what a combo!