Blue Roses

Quite a while ago, I think it was in 2007, Laura Groves released her first single I Am Leaving, which I really liked. It made me really want an album to be released. After months and months of waiting, I kinda gave up on the idea. Stupid, because I should have known that Laura Groves is way too talented to go to waste. And a few months ago, there it was, Laura Groves is now Blue Roses and is about to release her debut album later this month. Already had quite a few listens to an advance copy of the album, and I have to say... it's great and all I was hoping for. It's definitely not the standard singer songwriter stuff, but something that really makes her to stand out.
Yorkshire is full of towns where nothing much happens, or so they’d have you believe. Laura Groves either didn’t hear, didn’t believe or simply knew better and on the edge of seventeen began writing songs. With an old family piano and a borrowed guitar, thinking of the records she loved, lyrics that broke her heart, phrasing that made it race, composers cradling her aspirations. Influences spanning genres and generations; from Bartók to Bush, Tiersen to Tears For Fears, Debussy to Du Maurier. She dreamt of writing, arranging, performing and producing an album that would be as treasured by someone else, and hopefully inspire them in the same way. The journey from then until now has not only given her more years, but more confidence, more experience of life, the courage to let the music express when words seem too restrictive. Blue Roses is the story, with Laura Groves as the protagonist. Included is a cast of family members to play instruments and a choir of firm friends, acquaintances and perfect strangers gathered together in a café to help. A small amount of money and a little faith was stretched with the benevolence and enthusiasm of those who stood at each door. From recording in living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms in various houses, to recording a Steinway in a local piano shop Instant praise is neither expected nor sought; Blue Roses is not the stuff of lists, tip offs or hollow press recommendations; this is not recollection, it is realisation. It is not music to be forced onto the public for social measurements, or on the merit of affiliation. Blue Roses is to be found, kept and cherished; it is to be absent as the dust begins to settle, and longed for as ambience resumes. Blue Roses is the serendipity that can only happen when you thought you’d stopped looking; as you realise how life sounds without it, you begin again.

@ Shipley, UK
♫ Indie, Folk, Acoustic
♥ Doubtful Comforts (mp3)
♥ Greatest Thoughts (mp3)
▸ Myspace
▸ Official Website