Rosebuds

The Rosebuds kick off their fourth album, Life Like, with a gloomy, atmospheric riff that would sound at home on an Interpol album. Then a fuzzed-up rhythm section kicks in, and we join Ivan Howard right in the middle of the action: "I know a clean way out," he sings in his expressive indie-pop croon. Urgent and achingly cool, the track is perhaps the album's best. But there isn't much let-up. Kelly Crisp takes over for the more propulsive "Cape Fear," with its "Shake it, shake it, shake it" instructions–although the lyrics also bring news of man-eating catfish. Not everything on a Rosebuds album should be taken at face value; Howard and Crisp are smart songwriters, and sometimes allegory works better than a lyrical bludgeoning does. Sharp and well-crafted, Life Like works in part on the dance floor (though not as well as its predecessor, last year's Night of the Furies), and in part in the darkness, with headphones turned up high.

Howard and Crisp alternate lead duties, with Howard taking the mic for the electronically textured "Border Guards" and the piano-tinged curious campfire sing-a-long "Nice Fox." Crisp coos over the guitar fuzz of "Another Way In" and the lo-fi orchestral drone of "Black Hole" (one of the weaker tracks). She also sings the album's most infectious hook–the chorus of the raucous hoedown "Bow to the Middle."

Despite largely being recorded at Crisp and Howard's home in North Carolina, Life Like has a studio feel its scope, a sign of perfectionists at the wheel. While previous albums have found them expanding and evolving their sound in occasionally great measures, Life Like sounds more like a band that's found their signature sound and is now fine-tuning. One successful if low-key new experiment is the duo's first instrumental, the folksy "Hello Darlin'."

—Adam McKibbin
10.13.08

On their fourth full-length album, Life Like, the Rosebuds take a step back from the nearly overwhelming gothic darkness of Night of the Furies and return to a sound and feel reminiscent of their first album and EP. Not that the lyrics suddenly became all sweetness and light, they are still delving into gloomy matters and tackling murky emotions with abstract and poetic language. The fact that the musical backing is less synthetic and heavy than that of Furies makes Life Like an easier listen though, some of the tracks even have hit potential. "Cape Fear"'s hooky melody and Kelly Crisp's snappy vocals make a tale of man-eating catfish and third-degree burns palatable, "Bow to the Middle"'s bouncy beats and singalong chorus are tailor-made for indie rock dance clubs, and "Another Way In"'s somber Cure-ish atmosphere would fit well on late-night rotation. The glimmers of sunlight that break through the clouds intermittently on Life Like don't make the record any less of an emotionally charged affair, as Ivan Howard still sounds like every word he sings means the world to him, the arrangements still have plenty of drama, and the album has impact, both lyrically and musically. The subtlety with which they handle a song like the lyrically powerful "Nice Fox" is commendable, another band might have piled on the dramatics and instruments and made a pretentious mess of things but the Rosebuds don't. They show restraint and the album succeeds because of it. Indeed, their light touch and unfailing ability to deliver un-telegraphed emotional punches on Life Like make the album a strong addition to the Rosebuds already impressive catalog. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide