The Alice Rose

Pop artists usually fall into two categories. There are those artists that consistently write and record great pop songs that are gobbled up by the teeming masses and who are often rewarded with money, fame, and the adoration of millions. Then there are those artists that just don’t have “it.” No matter how hard they try, they are usually forgotten before their fifteen minutes begin. However, Texas pop sophisticates The Alice Rose don’t fall into either of these categories---and probably never will. Like a handful of artists before them, they inhabit the area just outside mainstream pop, applying their eclectic reverence for music of the past to the classic pop formula and kicking out the kind of complex, yet catchy pop on which Squeeze, Crowded House, and Elvis Costello made their names. The band’s fresh, orchestrated sound and intelligent lyrics have many in the press hailing them as one of the most captivating and accomplished pop acts to come out of the Music Capitol in recent memory.

While the similarity to 80’s Britpop acts is apt, the nature of the connection is not so straight forward. Strangely enough, songwriter JoDee Purkeypile has never owned a Squeeze, Elvis Costello, or any 80’s Britpop record. In fact, similarities to early Britpop icons come only from shared influences. The songwriting process begins with Purkeypile’s demos containing his structured ideas, drawing heavily from Bob Dylan, Lightnin’ Hopkins, The 13th Floor Elevators, and The Beatles. The rest of the band, made up of multi-instrumentalists influenced by acts like The Funk Brother’s and the Stax Records backing group Booker T. and the MGs, develops and refines Purkeypile’s ideas into the orchestrated, dreamy, art-pop that has garnered them so many comparisons to those familiar Britpop treasures. What The Alice Rose really has in common with them is a reverence for the music of the past and an ability to create songs that “sound both strangely familiar and utterly new," (National Public Radio).

Their debut full-length, Phonographic Memory, released on November 10th 2006, is a captivating example of this ability. The band kicks out full-on, jumping rock ditties as well as lush, mysterious, and romantic pop compositions. The blending and orchestration of their sound is unmistakably Beatles-esque; you can’t hide from that fact. However, as Pop Culture Press put it, “This band's sonic palette is far more eclectic for mere Fab Four comparisons." In fact, the materials eclecticism has garnered the release comparisons that, while centering on The Beatles and 80’s Britpop icons, stretch out to encompass a host of other bands and genres. Just about every review adds at least one unique addition to what would be a very long RIYL list. One thing they can all agree on is that Phonographic Memory offers an extremely rich, unique collection of pop songs that are as timeless as they are fresh, and definitely worth getting lost in.

The Alice Rose was formed by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter JoDee Purkeypile, bassist and vocalist Sean Crooks, and drummer Chris Sensat in Austin, Texas in 2001. Brendan Rogers (keys/ backing vocals), joined the band in the fall of 2005. Riding the wave of critical acclaim for the band's first release, Phonographic Memory, The Alice Rose plans to release their sophomore effort, All Haunt’s Sound, in summer 2008.