Danish singer-songwriter Dan Rose captures the restless spirit of New York City on his new EP To The Bitter End, a lo-fi yet poignant collection of folk songs written in and inspired by the city’s venues, side streets, and late-night locales. Recorded in single takes with just vocals and guitar before a lone microphone, the EP thrives in its raw immediacy while threading societal reflections and observations of city life.
“We Need Someone To Take Charge” opens the EP in rousing form, infusing its spirited title-touting declaration within brisk acoustic strums. A nod to Brooklyn and Prospect Park ensues, and also further depictions of the city’s old haunts: “Near the bar on Bergen Street, Elliott Smith used to visit.” The track stirs in its alternations between call-to-action “we need someone” fervency and its more peaceful city-set imagery. The subsequent “Don’t Be An Asshole” enamors with a hazier, laid-back acoustic backdrop, while the vocals traverse a similar setting — here, diners and restaurants throughout NYC — while reminding listeners to “pay it forward,” tip your restaurant workers, treat others kindly, and “don’t be an asshole, to anyone at all.”
Further quality songwriting shows on “The Bench In The Secret Gardens,” an introspective success with shades of Neutral Milk Hotel in its folk stylings and stream-of-conscious feeling. Lyrical perspectives compel in showcasing a discovery of hope in surprising places, rather than in those who sell hope with false pretenses. A memorable synth swell ventures enjoyably into the final minute, as the ethereal folk charm persists. EP finale “Everything Changes On 86th Street” is another winner, navigating the “nothing new to see” day-to-day grind in Manhattan — into a “let’s break the system of hypocrisy!” vocal ardency with dual-layered immersion. To The Bitter End is a thoroughly inviting success of an EP from Dan Rose.
