It is somehow brave to have an album which does not want to be boxed into genres and commercial demands. God of the Dead by Rosetta West is precisely that type of fearless work of art-a sprawling, spiritually-charged journey that seems less of a series of songs and more of a meditative journey through the darker recesses of humanity.
The vocals of Joseph Demagore are our dusty sherpa through this ethereal realm as the gravel-throated singer alternates between punk snarl and croon as the song necessitates. The burden of a man who has really struggled with existential questions is in his voice and even the most abstract imagery appears personal and urgent.
The thing that impresses me most about this album is the way it is ready to contradict. You are one minute in the gritty, blues soaked fury of Boneyard Blues and the next you are swept into the philosophical swagger of Tao Teh King. The two part suite Susanna Jones shows that Rosetta West is willing to invest in longform storytelling, and that narratives should be given room to breathe and develop in several movements.
The musical variety here might have been easily dispersed, but, rather, it produces something greater, sonic embodiment of human condition itself, messy and at the same time gorgeous, rough and at the same time highly meaningful. Mike Weaver, Nathan Q. Scratch and Orpheus Jones on the rhythm section give the solid base where the wild creativity of Demagore can fly.
God of the Dead does not only require patience and active listening but also reward those who are ready to make the entire journey. In a time of playlist culture and instant gratification, Rosetta West has created something that is becoming more and more difficult to find: an album that is a whole artistic statement, something that opens up more with every listening. This is underground music at its purest, no-nonsense, spiritually ambitious and completely authentic.
