Chicago based musician AJ Rosales sings about things falling apart on his new album Phasedrift. He played all the instruments, relying on his acoustic guitar to lead the way for the bass, piano, celeste, some hand percussion, and timpani. The bulk of the songs are quite personal - the intense An Unravelling, trying to let go by embracing all the curve balls that life might have in stock for him in Happenstance, but he always has a sharp eye for the rumblings in the outside world. Leitmotif is thinly veiled j'accuse, aimed at the political lunatics that are running amok.
His command of his six-string instrument will give transcribers a hard time. He is blessed with fluid dexterity and a knack for coming up with catchy and adventurous rhythms (Dinosaur). Rosales can pull off less is more choice notes (Dead Man's Sea) and it all comes together in the album's final track Anterograde, a heartfelt song for his mother Josephine whose memory stopped working properly, but supported him to finish the songs as he tried to deal with her imminent passing.
