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All Through The Fire All Through The Rain

Released 27th April 2015

Words: Gary Lambert
All Through The Fire, All Through The Rain is the latest EP from Liverpool based act Rosenblume. And what it offers up is three slices of well constructed Americana. Opening track, The Constant Lover, sets the scene with a heartfelt paean to the shared hurt of love. With the strings and laid back tempo taking you to the warm twilight of a summer’s evening the timelessness of the lyrics suggest how the pain of the person you love “cuts like a knife”. But within the sadness there is a smile and a celebration in Rosenblume’s voice which lets you feel that it is not necessarily a bad thing to share pain.

The second track, Lost In The Air, swaps strings for piano without losing that feel of Georgia. Slow and piano-driven it may be, but this is not music which fades into the background. The undulations of his voice act in perfect coordination to move your ears along an ocean of wistfulness like a lifeboat being pulled along by your heartstrings. The song is a five minute long elegant plea for a love which is worth fighting for from a singer down on his knees begging for hope.

Title track, AlL Through The Fire, All Through The Rain, is a showcase for Rosenblume’s vocal quality.  With the music rightfully sitting back in the mix, his singing prowess strikes home with confidence, power and more than a dash of homeliness.

For the final track, Nerves of Steel, the tempo rises as we head north from the thickening, relaxed southern heat to the cool freshness of Boston or New Jersey. If there is such a genre as Irish-Americana, this song belongs at the heart of it. Reminding me of a stripped down Springsteen covering Van Morrisson (no pressure there) this was my personal highlight of the All Through The Fire, All Through The Rain EP. Smooth and sweet, yet with the denim roughness of a dingy working class bar.

Rosenblume has the sort of voice that could melt the hearts of middle aged mothers across the land, but there is no room for Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh flavour standards. Instead what comes through is a guy singing from and about his heart. You can listen to this EP in the time it takes to finish a crossword. Next time you’re in a pub on your lunch, grab a table, a pint and your earphones and put down the paper and pen. Then just relax and enjoy it.

Listen to All Through The Fire, All Through The Rain here: