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Foreign Affairs - Rosanna

Writer's picture: CHRIS FARLIECHRIS FARLIE



Those awaiting Bristol's finest Americana rework of the Toto classic will have to wait a little longer as this is not it! Instead we have a continuation of the rich songwriting vein that Adam & Lawrence Purnell found themselves in last year.


Pretty much operating in a field of one, there can never be any certainties about what a Foreign Affairs single will sound like, and "Rosanna" keeps this trend running. With each release they challenge what can be done with a limited toolkit and push it further each time.


Instrumentally there is little more than some guitars some percussion and a few notes of piano however that in no way does justice to the soundscape they have produced. If anything the main instruments used are their vocals which swoop and sway and are able to move from being intensely close up to being able to boom out and swirl around in the space that they have created.


"Rosanna" starts almost conventionally, with just guitar and somewhat vulnerable sounding vocals


"Oh my whats for dinner? I've been starving and I don't know what I need

When the ground shakes I shudder, I can't break I won't let her see me on my knees"


The opening lines hinting at someone having to stay strong and present a calm exterior while at the same time having exactly the same doubts and worries.


"I don't know why I'm feeling alone cos you're by my side

and I know you know that I'm scared now!


The chorus when it comes sees the sound enhanced with cymbals and percussion matched with increased vocals, it comes across as an assertion of confidence and maybe self reassurance.


"I'll take care of you - Rosanna"


In a quite stunning section all of the sounds and vocals are brought together,

The 2 opposing points of views ( confidence and doubt ) are expressed with different vocal lines, like two contrasting opinions ringing in your head and so while one voice is confidently singing "I'll take care of you" the other is equally confirming "I'm scared now". The brothers masterfully build up layers of vocals singing different lines, at different volumes, some hitting you head on while others seem to swirl and linger in the ether in a most effective manner.


It is certainly another successful step in their sound evolution.




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