Record Label: Overit Records
Genre: Ballad Pop
Band Link: link

Apologies for harshness, but Rosemary’s Garden is a living cliche of abysmal, self-important ballad pop.  I’m surprised bands like this still exist.  There was a moment in the early 80s when singing about rivers and flowers over melancholic piano and the occasional softly-wailing guitar solo got you chicks (big-haired Long Island chicks with self-esteem problems), but now?  I can’t imagine anyone saying, “Yeah, you know that rock n’ roll stuff?  Well, what if we took out the ROCK part and sang weakly about sitting in the rain, perhaps over a pitter-patter of piano chords?”  And then getting a few other guys to go along with him.  Amazing.

Even if I were looking for modern-day, wussed-out lite pop music, Rosemary’s Garden wouldn’t be my top choice.   Everything about them is uninspiring and painfully mediocre.  The vocals are decent and have the tiniest alternarock edge on a couple of tracks (notably, the misnamed “Power Pop”), but the musicianship is as basic and uninteresting as it gets.   Songwriting and lyrics are also phoned in.

The only interesting aspect about Rosemary’s Garden is that they exist.   If they’re in it for the nonexistent ladies then their crappitude would be contrived and unforgivable, but at least understandable.  However, they appear to be sincere, which would make them clueless and sad.  I mean, the cover is a guy holding an acoustic guitar, looking up at the moon.  Their songs are titled “Summer Til November” and “Drowning.”   It doesn’t get much worse than this without being emo music.

They get a half star because they’re not completely inept (just misguided), and per the press photo, these are good-looking guys who wear smart and stylish fedoras.

Bottom Line: Power Pop without the power.
Notable Tracks: N/A
Overall Rating: