Album Details

• Artist: Hey Rosetta
• Album: Seeds
• Label: Sonic
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: MusicCritic on 2011-02-21

Hey Rosetta! is a “Canadian” band. Yes, they are from Canada but they are also “Canadian.” There is a sound to Canadian indie-pop that we all know as soon as we hear it, something set in sharp contrast to the clean and overly crisp sound of American indie-pop. Hey Rosetta! is to cod fishing as The National is to a presidential campaign. So what is it that makes Seeds such a perfectly Canadian record?

Firstly, Seeds is bombast-on-a-budget. One of the best things Canadian indie pop does is create sweeping and joyful full sounds without breaking the bank on production. Hey Rosetta! is one of the lucky bands that combines a great amount of talent with a great network of people who can provide the perfect last piece for these fantastic songs. “Young Glass,” the strongest song on the record, is also a perfect example of bringing in all their friends to throw a party and write a great song. Hey Rosetta’s previous two releases (Plan Your Escape and Into Your Lungs) were good but Seeds is fun and joyful and full of life; full of the life they wanted to live instead of the life they thought Canadian indie rock and Radio3 needed them to have. There is a freedom to Seeds let to run free in a way audiences have had yet to hear.

The other uniquely Canadian element of Seeds is that feeling that you get when you listen to something new but that you feel like you’ve heard before. Not in that derivative “we’ve all heard this before” dismissive way; but in a comfortable, familiar, warm way. Like an old friend suddenly wearing a beautiful new suit.

There is a bit of hipster run-off around Seeds (silly song titles, ironic animal lyrics, and momentary vocal homage to their southern and presidential campaigning brothers in arms) taking some of the sheen off an otherwise lovely album. Three albums in, Hey Rosetta! is off and running.

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