After a long hiatus, New York emo/post hardcore 4-piece Rose Of The World are back with ‘Heaven Is A Broken Heart’ – an album full of complexity, rediscovery, and hope.
Songwriter Cory Best says of the album: “This album chronicles a formative period of my life, one with a lot of separation and heartbreak. To cope, I started writing songs again…”
‘Forfeit Closure’ – After a false start, the album opens with a really full, wide sound – the guitars sound great – tonnes of body that fills the room. The song brims with confident energy. I loved the rhythm guitar’s groove & Cory’s husky vocal. An intriguing track, there is a marked change of pace after halfway (this will be a recurring theme!). It feels to me like this needs a few plays to fully reveal its secrets.
‘Amen2’ – A measured beat and some crazy, spikey guitar sounds with aggressive distortion that I loved. A complex arrangement and a shimmering drum track. I had no idea where this was going or what would come next. Towards the end, as the intensity increased, it gave me occasional hints of early Nirvana. Anxiety and fear, a recurring theme:
Destiny, smile on me.
Is it self-love or vanity?
Apple hung in a tree,
Too scared to take it,
Too bored to leave
‘Remains’ – I thought the stripped-back sound and the changing, off-kilter groove here were amazing. The way the bass resonated with those chords changed was really nice. Cory’s vocal demonstrates that cool raspiness and roughness again – but he can turn on and off at will, and there are tender moments too. At halfway, I had to double-check it wasn’t a new song, because the dynamics changed so much. It really keeps you on your toes, this record, and this track tells a curious tale:
Do you recall that pitch black hall?
Light from our phones
We came upon a pit
Why did you do it
‘Sucker’ – A raw roller coaster with punk-infused energy. I loved the vocal melody, which seems to duet with the guitar part. A growling menace overtakes the track late on.
‘Child At Play’ – A blisteringly hot sound that features, among other things, a cowbell and rattle. I thought this track hit the hardest yet – it locks in, refusing to loosen its grip – until, once again, there is a dramatic shift in mood (halfway through, the song comes to a complete stop) – before a total reinvention. This really does feel like 2 songs. Another crazily inventive arrangement full of trap doors and hidden rooms.
‘Before I Do’ – A delicate track that ends as it begins – for once. This, in its own way, is another shock. Oh, and this track contains one of my favourite lines:
I keep on reminiscing
Call it Joy in Repetition
‘Vitamin’ – The band says this song is about “situationships and casual sex and how an addiction to pleasure can leave you numb and used up”. It’s a track with an unstoppably vibrant sound and a plethora of ideas – and, of course, another great lyric:
Texting me a halo when you wanna sin
Now I’m yours to swallow like a vitamin
‘SYS’ – The redlining rhythm of this track drives things forward relentlessly. Cory’s vocal – breathy and subdued, then tortured – squeezes every ounce of feeling from every single word.
‘Heaven Is A Broken Heart’ – The final (title) track of the album feels like the most straightforward track so far. This is a powerhouse track, though, with a country-rock filter and a restrained vocal. To me, this feels like the final song in a triumphant live set – a band enjoying themselves and basking in the light they created.
Many times I felt a oneness
A thinning of the veil
My open heart is a compass
This album has so many ideas and changes in direction that you’ll need a map and a compass to navigate through it. It’s all executed with airtight precision, and the band plays with a cohesion that feels effortless and natural. Exploding with imaginative complexity, memorable performances and many quote-worthy lyrics, ‘Heaven Is A Broken Heart’ ticks all the boxes – and all the triangles, and the circles, and the pentagons…..
Written by Grubby
