box of Jack

Ok, so my friend, Roz, recorded an EP and it’s being distributed in Australia as well as available for download on the iTunes Music Store. I’m pretty much required to tell you about it because Roz is a ballbreaker. (Although there’s probably a heart of gold lurking underneath. Probably.)

But first, a story. Because lately it’s become a habit of mine to introduce things with a story.

I have met Roz a total of two times. The first time, it was one of her performances and it was just her and her keyboard in the corner of this tiny club in Melbourne. We didn’t actually exchange words, all I did was applaud in between songs but I was friends with her friends so it counts as meeting her! The second time, it was for the 21st birthday party of a mutual acquaintance.

At this birthday party was Addy, Marlene, Rosaline and I. All three of these girls were single at the time and somewhere between the hors d’oeuvre and the warm-up drinks, they all decided it was time to bag themselves a man. I just sat back and took notes. I was privy to this female ritual; they’d hit the dance floor, size up all their potential targets and come back to regroup and huddle for some pep talk. There was this level of deliberateness and organization happens behind the scenes that surprised me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared. But I was generally paranoid that night because someone on the dance floor pinched my ass but no one came forward. Frankly, I would have happily given it up but it helps if they own up to it.

Ok yes, that was my story: women can scare me. The end.

Rosaline Yuen - Garden. Buy it on iTunes or from JB Hi-fi Australia.

Her EP is out now and it’s great and you can trust me on that because I’ve only met her twice and I still recommend it. There are lots of people out there that I have met twice and I would not recommend you sit at the same table as them, let alone support their musical talents. She is an exception because her music is good and I know a lot of my blog readers love finding new music. You can’t get any newer than a recently-debuted, petite, Asian Australian girl who plays piano and sings her own songs. Check out the free samples on MySpace.

The two big attributes of the album are piano and the female vocals. There’s some jazz, some sad lingering love songs and an overall pop theme. My favourite is her jazzy track, Where Do We Go From Here?, I think it does a great job of showing of her voice. So go buy her stuff, support an up-and-comer and stop her coming over here and curb stomping me because her US sales aren’t high enough.

As a parting note, let me say that sleeves-over-wrists are hot. I do not know why but I just really like that look. Anyone else with me on this? Cmon, somebody out there must agree with me.