Rose Gerber fondly recalls carefree days of high school romance in her nostalgic new roots-pop single Under The Bleachers — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The Portland singer-songwriter’s latest track will hit home for anyone who has lingered over an old yearbook, excitedly gone to a class reunion or gone to the trouble of looking up an old flame online. The musical equivalent of a welcome breeze during a heatwave, Under The Bleachers transports us back to high school and the time-stretching alchemy of young love — an era when afternoons lasted eons and our biggest regrets were small enough to pass hand-to-hand on folded notebook paper.
“Our teenage years can feel pretty nostalgic when you’re an adult grinding through the day to day,” Gerber says. “I wanted to capture a bit of that longing for those moments we escaped with our friends into secret places where we forged those first loves, heard new music and stumbled our way to adulthood.”
With singalong harmony and the familiar twang of Rose’s signature rock-meets-country band, Under The Bleachers manages a sleight-of-hand nod to ’80s pop without sacrificing an ounce of integrity, coaxing synth-like tones out of pedal steel while nudging us comfortably back to teenage freedom. Grab your Discman, call shotgun in your friend’s ride and blow off your curfew.
Gerber is an intrepid American roots explorer, grafting country, folk, rock, alt-rock and alt-country into an ageless, ache-laden signature sound. As a writer, she is both thick-skinned and delicate, shape-shifting from heartland rock to heartbreaking balladry with unpretentious ease. Her songs are snapshots of everyday living that capture meaning in the seemingly mundane, courageous letters-to-self that spill wisdom so raw it feels almost accidental. It’s that unflinching tone that lands her comparisons to Natalie Merchant, Gillian Welch, Rosanne Cash and Patty Griffin.
Rose cut her musical teeth on New England’s folk circuit before packing up and driving west to Portland, Oregon in 2008, accompanied by a stack of burned country CDs — a goodbye gift from an old friend. Mile after mile, the carefully curated vintage tunes wrapped a deep love for country music into the foundation of her new life as a Portlander, and she’s been weaving classic country elements into her songs, shows, and collaborations ever since.
In true PNW fashion, Rose’s band was born in a garage during the rainy season of 2017, fuelled by off-color jokes, the blue-ribbon twang of their trio of guitars (pedal steel, acoustic, and electric), and plenty of wrangling in her trademark rock-tumbled alto. Together, the quintet are a melting pot of essential American sounds, bringing a high lonesome rock vibe to the familiar down-home marriage of soaring harmonies and galloping strings.
Over the years, Rose has shared stages with Shawn Colvin, Big Richard and The Parson Redheads — a testament to the chameleonic versatility of her sound. She’s headlined a bucket list of essential Portland venues, at home in a city where grunge and folk music bleed together in the puddles on the pavement. Her catalog has expanded to include both solo and band albums, several EPs, and a bounty of singles, all rooted in a sense of place that’s both eerily familiar and uniquely her own.
Watch the video for Under The Bleachers above, hear more from Rose Gerber below, and keep up with her on her website, Instagram and Facebook.
