Adelyn Rose, a four-piece out of the ever-blossoming Eau Claire music scene, is about to bloom. Having shifted through a series of lineups during their (relatively) short existence, AdRo has found stability in its current cast, swapping their acoustic guitars for synthesizers in the process. Fronted by the adept Adelyn Strei, the group will grace the stage at the Memorial Union Terrace this Thursday. I shot emails with Addie and their drummer, Dave, last week in preparation for their visit.
Jonathan Sunde
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Memorial Union Terrace
9:30 PM; Free
“First of all, I was borneded as a baby in Madison and so it has always felt a bit like home. I actually don’t remember any of it except being held on the porch while my parents packed the U-Haul. There was fruit salad.”
— Addie Strei
In their infancy, Adelyn Rose (from now on abbreviated here as AdRo) branded themselves with acoustic guitars and hushed vocals. Their first release, a self-titled EP in 2010, was a beautiful but brief offering put together by siblings Addie and Leo Strei. Its songs proceeded like a cautious journey into the unknown, each track a careful step stripped bare to avoid accidentally planting in the wrong place.
By 2012 the band had amassed beyond a brother/sister duo, harvesting Paul Brandt on keys and Dave Power on the sticks. In the spring they emerged with their full-length debut, Mezzanine, an imaginative album chock-full of child-like wonder and delivered effortlessly by Addie’s enchanting vocals. Serving as a full-band expansion of the EP, Mezzanine‘s lyrics center around settings and seasons; Dave rightfully assigned the record as having an “organic/acoustic folk-rock feel.” Alas, the tides turned again: Brandt departed and the band picked up Hannah Hebl, a sort of jack-of-all trades. And with the swap came another swerve in AdRo’s sound — an “electric tinge,” as Dave puts it.
Yet even in flux, the band has remained nothing if not diligent, as they released a tour-only EP last summer and are readying another full-length album for July that will harbor “added synths” and “more guitar pedals than before.” The record should additionally mark a lyrical shift for the group, being inspired by things as vague as “places” and as uncommon as “the movie Alien.” And while the songwriting process for the new tunes has essentially remained the same — “I [Addie] initially demo the songs with GarageBand, bring them to the band, and we hash them out and turn them into full band songs” — this time around AdRo treat yo-self‘d themselves, recording at Justin Vernon’s infamous and “very tranquil” April Base studio with Jaime Hanson.
This Thursday, those newly-recorded tracks — and a couple aged ones — are sure to be on full display. If you’re into gorgeous female windpipes, tight-knit indie rock, and free(!) shows, then you’ve got a friend in Adelyn Rose at the Memorial Union Terrace this Thursday night. Fruit salad is optional.