RoZe showcases unique alt-pop style with ‘Greener Grass’
by Matt Bower Kail
RoZe is an artist on the rise. Her loyal online audience is rapidly growing, with a combined pull of 320K+ across TikTok and Instagram she shows no signs of showing.
This is no small achievement for any 22-year-old musician, but RoZe has managed to cut through the noise on platforms that face unprecedented levels of over-saturation. We know TikTok’s track record well and its ability to launch breakthrough artists into stardom – could RoZe be next? We think so.
It’s safe to say RoZe has the makings of a promising music career ahead of her, a journey she tentatively set out on in her early teens. Born in Amsterdam, RoZe was just 14 years old when she first began sharing her renditions of pop songs online. Fast forward to 2024 and her debut EP, Greener Grass, has just dropped.
We were excited to sit down and get to know more about RoZe as an artist as we listened through her most complete body of work to date…
Greener Grass opens with ‘Hollow’, the EP’s' lead single which came out in May, giving everyone an addictive taste for what this artist had up her sleeve. In ‘Hollow’, RoZe explores her childhood trauma and how she escaped an abusive household, but she hasn’t let it define her.
“I was in a very dark place, and it was really hard to get out,” RoZe revealed when describing the inspiration behind the project. Her rich dulcet vocals and bed of synths allow her raw lyricism to sit at the forefront of the track. She gently invites the listener into her world as she looks back, unpacking her experiences and looking to the future as she moves on. It’s a vulnerable note to open the project with, affecting and lullaby-like, it’s clear that the 22-year-old is about to take us through many an emotional beat with this EP.
Track 2 and the EP’s second single, ‘Fantasy’, serves as a haunting exploration of a difficult relationship, the nature of which is left up to interpretation. Backed by subtly distorted percussion, almost akin to the echo of fingers clicking, it swells to a satisfying if unresolved climax – her fantastical world delays into a pleasing halt. ‘Fantasy’ is a warm nourishing experience juxtaposed from its lyrical themes.
‘Voices In My Head’ is very much a pop track, but possesses that darker Billie Eilish quality to it – and it works. RoZe weaves a sultry but sweet vocal melody, accentuated by a mechanical percussive backbeat.
The penultimate number, ‘Survival mode’, is a sparkling standout (and its chorus gives the EP its name). It marks a shift in RoZe’s vocal sensibilities, we hear more vim and vigor than we have before. Her vocal power is on full display as she describes that intoxicating feeling of newfound freedom following a toxic situation(ship). She’s confident in her delivery of this track, which could be described as a poignant empowerment anthem.
Speaking of confidence, RoZe is self-assured and care-free on ‘… Saturday’. The closing track beautifully demonstrates her skillset, bringing the Greener Grass journey to a fun and flourishing end. It has that catchy noughties RnB swing feel, complete with a jazz-fused off-beat drum part and a throwback summer chorus. It’s a refreshing close and a very different vibe compared to the heavier material that came before it.
RoZe has officially introduced herself with 5 outstanding tracks and we can’t wait to see and hear what’s next for the young artist.