These Open Roads

The gently wistful These Open Roads, arriving January 18, is the self-released debut of Chicago-born, L.A.-based singer/songwriter Haroula Rose. Produced with graceful understatement in Athens, GA by Andy Lemaster (Bright Eyes, Maria Taylor), These Open Roads is and evocative work of hushed, simple pleasures, the perfect accompaniment to pre-dawn,contemplative solitude. Rose’s voice, a near-whisper of plaintive resignation and sensuality, has the peculiar effect of drawing you closer even though the invitation is so subtle that it’s almost too easy to miss. And that would be a shame. On first listen, the moody Roads may not make much of an immediate impression. But when the last note fades into the dark, you immediately want to listen again, digging deeper, paying closer attention. Lemaster, who was recommended for the project by Rose pal Orenda Fink (Azure Ray), has assembled a pitch-perfect consortium of studio players, setting a remarkably subdued stage for Rose’s ethereal singing to take the closest thing to a spotlight. Our favorites include the finger-picked ballad “Love Will Follow”, intricately layered “New Year’s Day”, haunting folk hymn “A Place Under the Sun” — with a mesmerizing blend of banjo and string quartet — and the chillingly beautiful, languid muted tones of Road’s lone cover: Mason Jenning’s “Duluth”.