Hello and welcome to Hear First, Talkhouse’s brand-new series of album premieres! Along with streams of upcoming albums—today, our first is the killer Shadow by Your Side by the elegant Brooklyn punks Las Rosas—we’ll publish statements from artists and their peers about the mindsets and impressions that go into, or come out of reflection on, a record. Here, Jose Boyer, the singer and guitarist of Las Rosas, introduces the “delicate scramble” that he and the band created together. We hope and trust you will love it.
—Amy Rose Spiegel, editor-in-chief, Talkhouse Music
I conceived most of the tracks for Shadow by Your Side under the pressure of a looming recording date, booked and deposit paid. Bassist Jose Federico Aybar had demanded no time-wasting on the new album, so the songwriting was a delicate scramble: rush home at night to sit at the piano and then shed any expectation of anything. Shedding Expectations of Anything had recently become the title of my life, beginning with the breakup of my near-marriage to a lovely and unique woman. In both cases, it proved a cool new skill.
Nine rock and roll songs coalesced, half sarcastic and half sincere. Christopher Brandon Lauderdale set forth dressing them with his angelic background vocs—harmonic touches which, like cake frosting or the frilly paper cuffs that go around the legs of French-ly cooked poultry, added much-needed charm and refinement. By now, I know to secretly memorize Jose Federico Aybar’s first try at writing a bass line. It’s because Jose Federico Aybar’s instincts are shiny-sharp, and the first one is almost always the best. Hear for yourself.
I sang the very first words of Shadow by Your Side in a recording booth in Nashville, TN, and Christopher Brandon Lauderdale logged its final tambourine shake in the summer of 2017 in New Paltz, NY. It will be released May 11 and remains a delicate scramble.
—Jose Boyer, Las Rosas
Las Rosas’ upcoming tour schedule:
5/10 Middlebury, VT – Middlebury College
5/11 Montreal, QC – L’Esco
5/13 Windsor, ON – Phog Lounge
5/14 Cincinnati, OH – MOTR Pub
5/15 Detroit, MI – Marble Bar
5/17 Milwaukee WI – High Dive
5/18 Chicago, IL – Subterranean Downstairs
5/20 Fort Collins, CO – Surfside 7
5/21 Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
5/22 Salt Lake City, UT – Metro
5/24 Boise, ID – Neurolux
5/26 Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
5/27 Portland, OR – Liquor Store
5/29 San Francisco, CA – Brick & Mortar
5/31 San Diego, CA – Blonde Bar
6/1 Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
6/2 Tucson, AZ – Flycatcher
6/3 El Taso, TX – Monarch
6/5 Dallas, TX – Transit
6/6 Austin, TX – Hotel Vegas
6/7 Houston, TX – Spruce Goose
6/8 New Orleans, LA – Hi Ho Lounge
6/9 Birmingham, AL – Seasick Records
6/11 St. Petersburg, FL – Paper Crane
6/12 West Palm Beach, FL – Voltaire
6/13 Miami, FL – Las Rosas
6/14 Jacksonville, FL – Root Down (w/ La Luz)
6/15 Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre Rooftop
6/16 Nashville, TN – 5 Spot
6/17 Raleigh, NC – Slims
6/19 Asheville, NC – Lazy Diamond
6/20 Richmond, VA – Strange Matter
6/23 Brooklyn, NY – Alphaville
