If It's Too Loud...

Photo  by Varvara Mikushkina CHamoru-American artist Rosa Bordallo has released a final single before next week's release of her solo debut, and "Sleight of Hand" just heightens our excitement for the album. While her previous two singles, "Lost On the Coast" and "Citadel," were simplistically quiet and loud respectively, "Sleight of Hand" is both. It starts out with a shoe-gazey wash of guitars until the guitar drops out to make room for Bordallo's voice. The song meanders between quiet and simple and a droning, buzzy guitar centered rocker. It's a compelling dichotomy that makes us unable to wait for the album release next week. You can listen to "Sleight of Hand" below. Reef Walker , the new album from Rosa Bordallo, will be out October 18 on Time Castle Recordings. You can pre-order a copy via Bandcamp . For more on Rosa Bordallo, check out her Facebook . Reef Walker by Rosa Bordallo

Photo by  Varvara Mikushkina While we loved the gorgeous simplicity of Rosa Bordallo's debut single, "Lost on the Coast," her follow up is decidedly more rock. "Citadel" isn't quite a punk rager, but compared to the previous song this one shreds. Beneath Bordallo's vocals creeps a growling guitar just waiting to be unleashed throughout the song. When it finally does it absolutely tears away, barely in control. The aggression within the song is due to the subject matter. According to Bordallo:    "'Citadel' is about Capitalist vultures in the concrete jungle. A balls-to-the-wall angry eff you to the 1 percenters who suck us dry. I wrote this out of frustration with the myth of New York ('if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere') that attracts bright and ambitious folk who may not realize what they're getting into until it's too late." You can listen to "Citadel" below. Reef Walker , the debut s...

Photo by Varvara Mikushkina Rosa Bordallo has one of the more interesting bios we've encountered in a while. Born of CHamoru heritage and growing up in Guam, Bordallo moved to New York City at 19 for film school. She has played in post punk band cholo and recorded solo under the name Manett. Her upcoming album is the first under her own name. Her heritage inspires her music, as the indigenous CHamoru have been subjected to brutal occupation by Spanish, Japanese, and American forces. Her move to New York also created an intense sense of distance from her birthplace, both geographically and culturally. This is reflected in her latest single, "Lost on the Coast." The song is a gorgeously sparse one. Somehow, despite how lo-fi the song and instrumentation is, it's a lush soundscape. It's quiet and lonely, but somehow hopeful. Even though the song is sparse, it has a deceptively complex arrangement.  You can watch the video for "Lost on the Coast" belo...