mxdwn PREMIERE: Roscoe Roscoe Shares Blissfully Psychedelic Synth Pop on New Song “Jacob’s Ladder”

Hailing from London, Roscoe Roscoe is a psychedelic rock band sitting on a mother load of new music to release. So far they’ve only released one single, but today we are excited to premiere the band’s second single “Jacob’s Ladder.” The song astutely mixes synth-driven modern indie pop with classic psychedelia.

Roscoe Roscoe’s first single “Brain Retrieve” was a distorted, dissonant, retro take on shoegaze – seriously reminiscent of Thee Oh Sees in their Help heyday, but “Jacob’s Ladder” takes things in a completely different direction. The song opens with a contemplative guitar riff that slowly warps into an orchestral synthesizer dreamscape. The vocals are gently whispered, a far cry from the flamboyant persona behind the band’s first single. The visualizer for the new single features similar artwork to that of “Brain Retreive,” with featureless human sculptures manipulated to the music.

“Brain Retrieve” was a bit of a longer, guitar-driven epic while “Jacob’s Ladder” is over in just over two and a half minutes. The song knows its space and occupies it just long enough to leave you wanting more. With promises of “albums worth of music,” we’re waiting with baited breath for more from this East London quintet.

As is the case with many of the great songs, “Jacob’s Ladder” was written within a few minutes “while I was playing around on the guitar watching TV. It almost wrote itself,” said guitarist Jacob Muna.

The band formed at The Brit School, the same place that current critical darlings black midi came together. Don’t let that coincidence fool you, this band sounds miles away from the jazz-prog-punk of their fellow schoolmates. There’s a prog influence there, but you get the feeling Roscoe Roscoe was influenced by a steady diet of Nuggets-era singles and The Allman Brothers guitar licks.

Photo Credit: Holly Whitaker

Matt Matasci: Music Editor at mxdwn.com - matt@mxdwn.com | I have written and edited for mxdwn since 2015, the same year I began my music journalism career. Previously (and currently) a freelance copywriter, I graduated with a degree in Communications from California Lutheran University in 2008. Born on the Central Coast of California, I am currently a few hundred miles south along the 101 in the Los Angeles area. matt@mxdwn.com
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