The Rosebuds

Night of the Furies

Merge

originally published April 25, 2007

Who would've thought Royal Trux would be so influential? In the '90s, the group made a series of albums tackling separate decades, and though the same basic Royal Trux style carried through, the structure forced variety and was incredibly productive. Belle & Sebastian seem to have found new life in this technique, going from mid-'60s folk-rock to early-'70s glam and becoming an entirely new band.

Now it's the Rosebuds' turn, and their move is maybe the best yet: having mastered power-pop on their first release and turned gentler on their second, they've moved forward in time to sound like ABBA and make a concept album about the demigoddesses of retribution. They're aided by not having a drummer, and so they bust out the drum machine and pile on synth-strings, which, when married to the instinct for hooks intrinsic in 'Buds Ivan Howard and Kelly Crisp, produces gorgeous electro-pop on Night of the Furiesthat, due to the band's retro grounding, ends up sounding like the legendary Icelandic pop quartet: focused pop songs with distinct parts concentrated for maximum effect.

There are still classically Rosebudian songs ("Silence by the Lakeside"), but even these take on a new life in the context of stuff like "Get Up Get Out," which is too good to be described (swooning, effusive disco?), and "I Better Run," which perfectly evokes a cracking, darkened dance floor in the provinces. It's still the Rosebuds - bittersweet, sparse, dark, pinpoint - but it's the Rosebuds transformed into something no one's been for 20 years. I can't wait to see where they go next.

Michael Barthel

The Rosebuds are playing at the EARL in Atlanta on Saturday, June 23.