The Look South
Class Act Records

Sam Rosen’s new album, “The Look South,” throws a few curves at the listener over its 10 tracks.   “Fireflies” starts off the set with Rosen and band mate Juliet Nelson (of Tigersaw fame) singing together beautifully over stereo panned, tremolo guitars. Rosen’s voice is big and expressive and sounds like the marriage of a ’50s rock ’n’ roll vocalist and an ’80s alternative rock singer (Morrissey? David Gahan?), while Nelson’s crystal clear voice is the perfect foil to his animated crooning. “The Look South” could have quite easily become the “same old indie stuff,” but ventures instead down the slightly twisted path that Tom Waits traveled on “Mule Variations.”

The album really gets cooking on track three, “Wait,” a haunting a capella, gospel round, and on “Things I Carry,” which benefits from some clever multi-tracked drums and low background vocals that combine for a powerful listening experience. Jason Anderson, Casey Deinel, Nat Baldwin and others make cameo appearances on this indie rock cum roots/blues disc, but most of the instruments are played by Rosen. Nelson contributes cello on one track and sings throughout. Tom Wait’s “Down in a Hole” and the Welch/Rawlings number “Revelator” are covered here, the former with the most success, but it’s the originals that serve Rosen and company best throughout. There are many highlights on this swell debut.