Roses & Revolutions

Looking for a song that is easy to learn, has catchy lyrics, maybe some beats that you can tap your foot along with or tap on the steering wheel as you drive? How about an album that is both radio friendly as well as being good enough to listen to as a CD without it sounding like some simple radio album? Maybe you should check out the new EP by the duo Roses & Revolutions because with their self titled EP you will be getting all that was mentioned in the songs they play. Roses & Revolutions is comprised of only 2 people, Alyssa Coco and Matt Merritt, an indie pop rock band that has a nice flair of artistic style to their music.

Simple songs might be what are on this EP but they are orchestrated well enough to not sound like they are from an amateur band. These two musicians play and sing songs with a artist view of music rather than someone that wants to rock out with some tunes. There are some levels of energy being put into the instrumentals of the songs, and the opening track, “Take Me With You” does start the album with a decent levels of energy, but as a whole, the EP is low key. I kept expecting the vocals of Alyssa Coco to break out into some loud levels or going into a faster tempo as she sung, but that never happens. What keeps the levels of energy going throughout the EP are the instrumentals. They keep a decent beat going where they make the songs feel like they are about to break loose into some wild beats.

Those wild beats and quick/loud vocals never actually happen in the songs but don't take that as the songs being slow or boring. They are playful with a fun beat to them and it's that playfulness in the songs that kept me expecting the songs to progress into heavier beats. Alyssa Coco has a rich voice that give the songs a sweet yet sexy sound to them. Her vocals almost seduce you into listening to the songs while the instrumentals by Matt Merritt keeps you from getting completely lost in her voice. I like that the songs have this sense of building towards something but at the same time keeps it from going over the edge. At times I could hear some moody moments in the songs, which works with the artist side of the songs, but it also gives the lyrics more emotion and meaning. Though the songs are light, playful, and fun, they also show that these two have talent. Matt Merritt and Alyssa Coco have put some effort into making their songs full with lush sounds from the guitar and smooth vocals so that anyone listening to the songs can enjoy them as much as Alyssa and Matt did in making them.