“There are 12 songs on the album and I wanted to push myself with each one, with what I would write about, topic-wise — marriage equality, wars and gun violence, anxiety with social media. And then there’s songs about intimate relationships and trust,” says Elizabeth Rose of her debut full-length, Intra.
Indeed, each cut on the 12-track release is its own contained missive to the listener. Each track bears its own unique, idiosyncratic sonic and lyrical personality, and each track is another insight into the imagination of the young producer, singer, and DJ, as well as her star-studded list of collaborators.
Much gets made of collaborations these days, particularly in the EDM world, but the roster on Intra is indeed impressive and includes the likes of Chrome Sparks, Seekae’s George Nicholas, M-Phazes, Remi, and Grammy Award-winning producer Jimmy Douglas, who mixed the album.
Speaking of mixing, it should be mentioned how slick the album sounds and we might as well get it out of the way now. The album is brimming with shimmering, sharp production that sinks its hooks into you (no pun intended) and doesn’t relent for the duration of the album.
No matter what side of Rose we’re watching, it always sounds good, but there are many sides to explore and at time Intra suffers from having too many ideas thrust onto it. Sure, its schizophrenic nature is part of its charm, but at times the album suffers from Rose’s unbridled ambition.
[include_post id=”387771″]Songs like ‘Shoulda Coulda Woulda’ and ‘In 3s’ — the two opening tracks of the album — bear shades of Ellie Goulding and Beyonce, but elsewhere on the album Rose is just a reverb-laden voice against a piano, like on the atmospheric, almost unnerving crescendo of ‘Kensho’.
That track leads right into ‘Anxiety’, which has elements of Robyn and La Roux and is a shining example of Rose’s mastery of pop structure and arrangement. The peaks and valleys of the track will have you gliding and falling at Rose’s will and the breakdown just begs for repeated headphone listening.
“I chose this as the title for my album because every single song reflects every little aspect of what makes me, me,” Rose recently wrote on Facebook. “My beliefs, my worries and fears, what I hate and love, who I hate and love, my dreams, what excites me and what my darkest thoughts are.”
Indeed, Intra is the sound of a poised and genuinely talented songwriter announcing herself to the world, asserting herself, and then opening herself up, every little aspect of what makes her, her. It’s a consistently rewarding, if variegated, listen.
Upcoming Tour Dates
Saturday 04 June – Jack Rabbit Slims,
Friday 10 June – Elsewhere, Gold
Saturday 11 June – The Foundry, Brisbane
Friday 17 June – Howler,
Saturday 18 June – Fat Controller, Adelaide
Friday 24 June – Oxford Art Factory, Sydney
Saturday 25 June – Argyle House, Newcastle
