Rosali, the project of North Carolina-based songwriter and guitarist Rosali Middleman, has announced a new album. Bite Down, the follow-up to 2021’s No Medium and Rosali’s Merge Records debut, comes out March 22. Check out the lead single ‘Rewind’ and see the album artwork and tracklist below.
Bite Down finds Rosali once again working with David Nance (bass, guitar), James Schroeder (guitar, synth), and Kevin Donahue (drums, percussion), and features Destroyer collaborator Ted Bois on keys. “I started writing the majority of Bite Down after moving to North Carolina in the fall of 2021. The album traces two cross-country moves, including saying goodbye to my longtime home of Philadelphia,” Rosali explained. “I resolved to bite down on the proverbial bullet; sink my teeth into the flesh and bone of being in the world, devouring the obstacles in my path and gloriously savoring all that is on offer—good and bad. Give me another serving, another moment, another challenge, give me another chance to meet life with insatiable hunger.”
Speaking about her new song, Rosali added: “I want what I do with my time to matter and to reject regret for even the difficult moments are worthy in how they reveal wisdom and initiate growth. I would do it all over again (i.e. rewind) knowing the challenges in life are not meant to be disdained, as much as the joys and pleasures are not meant to be the goal,” she says of the song. “Being present allows us to become more whole and rounded as people, with love being the way to move through. Not just the romantic kind but all the forms of love, desire and excitement that push us through to the next day.”
The album’s press release includes a short essay penned by Destroyer’s Dan Bejar, who writes in part: “Bite Down makes me think about singers and bands that throw themselves hard into the storm, the way the Rosali quartet does. The calm of her voice over top of the band’s raging—it is the emblem of songs that live to put themselves in harm’s way. But it’s not harm. It’s just that you have to play hard to get at these goods. The calm of Rosali’s voice, the straight talk of her inner search vs. the wildness of the band, the sonic storm she rides in on. That’s their sound.”
Bite Down Tracklist:
Bite Down Tracklist:
1. On Tonight
2. Rewind
3. Hills on Fire
4. My Kind
5. Bite Down
6. Hopeless
7. Slow Pain
8. Is It Too Late
9. Change Is in the Form
10. May It Be on Offer
