Reviewing a record when you know the curtains have since fallen on the band is always a little difficult. You inevitably wonder what might have been, while trying to find evidence (if any) that things were falling apart. Chris Cheveyo brought together Rose Windows in 2010 to explore psychedelic rock, folk, the blues and more, but their self-titled second album serves as their final statement, with the band announcing their split shortly before its release.
First things first, it’s pretty good. It’s a vibrant record, full of energy which occasionally spills over. The musical ideas are fun and easy to get in to, and the vocals and sound manages to be both urgent and lazy at the same time. Forget what you know about the band, and this record is pure fun. It certainly doesn’t sound like a band working in disharmony. Only the members of the band know why it had to come to an end. Maybe this band could have gone far, but we’ll never know now.
We can mourn the lost chance to hear these songs live, but they’ve chosen to go their separate ways, and that’s that. It’s easy to let that fact overshadow this record, but enjoy it for what it is and you’ll have plenty of fun. There’s not much point looking at it any other way. An interesting epitaph, but nothing more.