In between strumming her guitar and scribbling song lyrics onto a notepad, Jordan Reynolds—known musically as Rose Hotel—was playing a lot of chess, which made it only fitting that she named her newest album A Pawn Surrender.
The album was released in June by Athens-based Strolling Bones Records and is the Atlanta-based musician’s record label debut.
Reynolds said the record took her about two years to write and record because she wanted to put everything she had into the music while straying slightly from her DIY roots. “I really wanted to explore all the different musical influences that I really love because I have a very, kind of eclectic taste in music,” she said. “I kind of just wanted to go into the studio and not feel limited by ‘Oh, I’m going to make a folk rock record, or an Americana record or a psych record.’ I’m just going to do everything that I like and not care if it doesn’t totally fit.”
Once all the recording and mixing was done, she said the amalgamation of musical influences created a cohesive record. “Because it’s still me, but it was fun to stretch out and explore those musical realms,” she said.
While the main theme of chess is visible in certain tracks like “King and a Pawn,” which talks explicitly about the game, she said there are also indirect messages. “The idea of chess was really fun to play with when I was working on the record because it’s kind of like each song felt like a different piece. Where they’re all different and have different strengths and weaknesses, but they all work together,” said Reynolds.
The record explores other subjects like relationships, but she said this does not solely include lovers, but also relationships with friends and the world. She said another track on the album, “Pull the Wool,” is a prime example of this.
“Being in a relationship [with] the world right now, the culture of the world, kind of like the fears of living in the world right now, and kind of pulling the wool over my eyes like I just don’t want to see it,” Reynolds said. “This acknowledgment that sometimes it’s just so much it’s hard to even absorb.”
She said she is still figuring out what her exact process is for writing songs but wants to make it more of a “practice” of creating music as she moves forward.
“Instead of ‘I’m going to sit down and write a song,’ it’s just kind of like every day, pick up my guitar and writing a little bit,” said Reynolds. “I start with myself, a guitar and a notebook, and I just kind of sketch songs out from there. And when they get to a place where I feel like I’m ready to share with other musicians, I’ll bring it to a band scenario and arrange it with the band. I always have a skeleton structure of a song and then kind of flesh it out with the band.”
Her musical journey began at a young age when taking guitar lessons or performing in choirs and school plays. “I mean, why do kids love anything? It’s just because it feels really good. It feels really fun, and I think there’s something about the somatic element of music, the resonating notes, the voice of the instruments that just feels really safe and beautiful.”
After attending college for a year and deciding she would rather be in a band, she played with varying groups in her hometown of Bowling Green, KY before moving to Atlanta and embarking on her own adventure as Rose Hotel—a name pulling influence from her interest in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s New York City scene and the Chelsea Hotel.
“I feel like people could think Rose Hotel means one thing, but my music is a lot moodier and darker and surreal, like it’s not really straightforward, pretty floral singer-songwriter music,” she said.
She is gearing up to perform at the 40 Watt Club for the first time on Sept. 14 opening for Lunar Vacation, but she is no stranger to live music. “Performing live on stage in a room is different than anything else you could ever experience, because you’re creating something in real time and then also witnessing other people taking it in in real time,” she said. “So it’s like this transfer of energy and acknowledgment and presence with other people that’s impossible to replicate in any other medium.”
Those familiar with Athens music may see some familiar faces on stage as her live band rotates often, featuring musicians from the Classic City.
WHO: Lunar Vacation, Rose Hotel
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m. (doors)
WHERE: 40 Watt Club
HOW MUCH: $26 (adv.), $31
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