‘Songs in Transit (Midnight Sessions)’ EP offers an intimate and raw fresh take on RORRE’s first four songs, finding them strip away the noise and amp up the emotion.
for fans of The Jacks, The Killers, Lucero
“Songs in Transit – Midnight Sessions” – RORRE
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This pandemic has given us an opportunity to evaluate who we are, and who we want to be. For us, being in a band is rooted in connecting with people and sharing life experiences with others.
It’s been almost a year to the day since RORRE introduced their heartland rock sound with debut single “You Never Say Goodbye,” a roaring injection of feeling and overdrive. The band’s debut EP Songs in Transit soon followed in May, but great songs die hard and RORRE weren’t going to let the magic end there: The band’s new EP, Songs in Transit (Midnight Sessions) offers an intimate and raw fresh take on RORRE’s first four songs, finding them strip away the noise and amp up the emotion.
Atwood Magazine is proud to be premiering Songs in Transit (Midnight Sessions), a fittingly sweet record intended to bring us as close as possible to RORRE’s debut tracks. Hailing from Fallbrook, California (home to this writer’s wedding venue), RORRE are an independent rock band consisting of Erick Frost, Mason Munari, Sawyer Knox, and Julian Smelser. A small-town band with an expansive sound, RORRE’s music falls somewhere in-between The Killers and Lucero, with easy comparisons to West Coast newcomers like The Jacks.
With their home nestled in the beautiful oasis north of San Diego and south of Los Angeles, RORRE can’t help but bring a sun-kissed warmth to their melodic sound. Trading in heavier effects for lighter instrumentations, the group’s new EP breathes with a stunningly bright, sincere, and feel-good ambience. Lead single “Alright” aches with moving sincerity, highlighting Erick Frost’s evocative range and giving him more space to play around and showcase his talents. The same goes for the midnight session versions of “What Do I Mean to You,” “Bold,” and “You Never Say Goodbye” – the latter of which was already subdued, and now comes to us in the form of an aching piano ballad.
“The Midnight Sessions were born out of a desire to reimagine old songs in the setting of a small bedroom off the coast of Southern California,” RORRE tell Atwood Magazine. “When we started the Midnight Sessions, the world looked much different. As COVID-19 began to spread, these songs found a completely new context within the backdrop of these wild, and unprecedented times. This pandemic has given us an opportunity to evaluate who we are, and who we want to be. For us, being in a band is rooted in connecting with people and sharing life experiences with others. We want to be the band that celebrates what makes all 7 billion of us human: Our deep desire to connect with one another, no matter the circumstance. The Midnight Sessions started with the four of us isolated in our home studio, and now we hope these songs can speak to all those who are now forced to isolate.”
Despite not knowing the shape or look of life in April 2020, RORRE’s new music is a light in today’s relatively dark, disconnected world.
Their songs, full of hope and coming to us stripped of excess, offer opportunities for human connection and understanding on a visceral level: And at the end of the day, what could we possibly want more than that?
Experience the full record via our exclusive stream, and peek inside RORRE’s Songs in Transit (Midnight Sessions) EP with Atwood Magazine as the band go track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their new offering!
We want to be the band that celebrates what makes all 7 billion of us human: Our deep desire to connect with one another, no matter the circumstance.
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“Songs in Transit – Midnight Sessions” – RORRE
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:: Inside Songs in Transit ::
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ALRIGHT
Alright is a song rooted in the melancholy of growing up. We often look to the past as a golden era; myths and legends of our adolescence. I’ve found that often our memories cannot be completely trusted.
All of us grew up together in the same small town, sharing many of the same fond memories. Memories of playing hockey at Kit Carson Park. Memories of marching in the band before football games. Memories of the first songs we wrote together years ago. However, these cherished moments are interwoven alongside pain. High school break ups, friends moving away, loved ones passing on; these are far from perfect moments that we seem to push out of the picture we paint of our past. Coping with the pain of the past is part of growing up, and finding peace in the present is what Alright is all about. — Erick
WHAT DO I MEAN TO YOU
“Like many of our favorite emo songs, this song was written in the eye of the storm of a breakup. A relationship is supposed to reflect the best parts of two different people. What Do I Mean To You is about what happens when one person becomes someone they aren’t to make the other happy. I was in a relationship because I was comfortable, and it’s always easier to stay where you are than to move forward. It takes a great deal of strength to be honest with who you are and push toward who you really want to be.“ — Julian
YOU NEVER SAY GOODBYE
I began writing this song on the shoulder of Old Highway 395 just outside of Fallbrook, California. On my way to band rehearsal a nail ripped through my back passenger tire. This flat tire felt like the crescendo to an already frustratingly odd day & I felt like I was loosing my mind.
As I was waiting for a tow truck on the side of the highway I thought about my frustration with this nail in my tire, & my anxiousness about being late to rehearsal. I was thoroughly bummed. But if you know me, you know I have a hard time staying pessimistic, so my mind drifted quickly towards the joys of my life. I thought about my fiancé, how she was going to be my wife in a couple months, how much grace and love she has had for me for the past 5 years we have been together amidst all of my imperfections. I thought about my best friends in this band, all the places we’ve seen together, all the arguments and laughs. Through it all, we have remained not just best friends, but brothers. I began singing this chorus on the side of the road and by the time my band mates had picked me up, I knew we had to write this song together.
You Never Say Goodbye is a ballad to the people your life who stick by you and love you through your best and worst moments.” — Erick
BOLD
“Bold is a song that is very special and meaningful for me. I was dealing with a lot of change and I wasn’t handling it well. I had moved out of my parent’s house and was living on my own for the first time and it was tough because I’m very close to my family. Not long after that I experienced real heartbreak and it sent me spiraling because I didn’t know how to be on my own. I felt completely alone. One night, Erick, Sawyer, and I got together to do some songwriting but I wasn’t in it. Not even doing something I loved with some of my closest friends could do anything to make me feel normal so I grabbed my stuff and went home. That night they wrote Bold and when I heard it I realized that I wasn’t the only one dealing with my pain. It hurt my friends and family to see me the way I was because they care about me. Bold is about those times when you feel alone and is a reminder that you can use the hardest times in your life to grow and be better for it.” — Julian
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