Bacchanalia Magazine

By Reb Jordin: Journalist

The White Roses, a four-piece indie band, recently released their debut EP ‘So Close (yet so far) on September 27^th. The EP flows through themes of love, growing up, feeling stuck and heartbreak, perfect for listeners who love an EP that tells a story.

Opening the EP with the title track, at not even a minute it is the perfect prelude. The passionate keys of the piano and the chirping of birds give it a pastoral feel, like the first day of summer in your countryside small town or the start of a coming-of-age movie. 

The EP bursts open in a cacophony of pounding drums and killer guitar riffs with the single ‘This Town’. The song screams with the desperation to go somewhere bigger than you can imagine, leaving the small town gossip and claustrophobia behind. Standout lyrics, ‘I don’t wanna stay here. I don’t wanna lay me down’ convey not wanting to submit to a life in a dead-end town. Instead, you long for the city lights and all that they have to offer.

The next song ‘2:23’ with it’s relentless bass and a shredding guitar, back front woman Ellie’s powerhouse voice perfectly. The song tells the bittersweet tale of growing up, when your sister moves away, and you’re just expected to know how to handle the world alone when you still feel like a kid. Listeners will feel seen within this song of the hard but necessary goodbye to childhood days in favour of the rest of your life.

The next single ‘If I Could’ with it’s addictive guitar riffs and a killer solo laces the feeling of the desperation behind an unspoken love within the EP. Enhanced with Ellie’s beautifully controlled vocals which further instil the feeling of infatuation. Standout lyrics, ‘wanna feel your eyes upon me wrap me in your gaze’ convey lovesickness, when you are obsessed with the soul of another like an addiction.

‘Bound to Fade’ is the highlight of the EP, conveying how nothing lasts forever although you sometimes wish it could. Love can be like a drug, addictive an all-consuming, until the high inevitably fades away. The chorus is truly euphoric, like ascending to the cosmos or floating in an ocean of stars. It has the sound of something big, like the song doesn’t belong within the sweat-laced walls of a small music venue but rather in arenas full of people screaming the lyrics back to the band. ‘Bound to Fade’ belongs with the greats.

‘So Close (yet so far) closes with ‘Skeletons’, stripped right back to just an acoustic guitar and Ellie’s delicate vocals instilling an intense vulnerability within the song. Poetic lyricism tells the story of trying to be ok with being alone as in the long run you know it’s for the best. ‘Skeletons’ closes the album with this full circle moment, growth has been had and closure has been given. 

So go and check out ‘So Close (yet so far) to experience this whirlwind EP for yourself.