Rome – Dedication EP
Album Review by Claudia Boisvert
On the alternative rock scene (mixed with a couple of other styles), Sublime With Rome has found a way to make quite of a big name a long time ago. I never really took the time to listen to their songs until now, though I’ve heard about them a few times before ; that’s when Fueled By Ramen published its usual newsletter, with the title “Rome’s Dedication EP Out Today!”. As I didn’t know back then that “Rome” was the singer’s name (Rome Ramirez) or that the Sublime With Rome is in fact a collaboration between this singer and the past band Sublime, I got curious about it and bought that EP.
As I began a first (short) listening, I looked up who that Rome was and discovered the history behind Sublime With Rome. Fans will of course know him from this band, but as only one album (“Yours Truly”) has been released since he joined Sublime, we only got one side of Rome’s style. Now that he worked on his own production, called “Dedication”, we get a better idea of how he is as an artist. Sure, a four songs EP is short. But we still get the big picture and how he can dissociate of Sublime With Rome.
The album starts with “Dedication”, the first single released on May 30th (audio only). A video is expected later on this year and honestly I can’t wait to watch it, because this song is my favorite one, no doubt. Maybe it’s because it is the first one I’ve listened to, maybe it’s because it is the first single. Or maybe not. Maybe it’s because it is simply awesome. Its beat is super catchy, the guitar becomes magical when combines with the whistles and the low “ohh”, just before the chorus. Light yet beautiful, this song has everything of a good summer track with a bonus of meaningful lyrics.
We get next “Seasons”, a song probably as catchy as the first one but with more dancing elements than acoustic instruments. It is quite different from the usual Sublime With Rome’s sound in the way it’s more pop rock (and somehow remains me of Train) than alternative rock. “Seasons” is a sweet song, an easy listening; which is pretty much the same for the rest of the album. “Hung Up” has a sound more dry and guitar-ish and still got that light summer vibe. If I really got into the first two tracks, this one don’t really have much to stand up from the others.
Sublime With Rome’s fans might prefer the last song “Oz of Love”, as to me it sounds a lot more like a couple of tracks on “Yours Truly”. But the chorus is particularly jerky, not fluid, creating a style I’m not really into. As I said, fans might really like it, but for me the first alternative rock sound was better. Now, maybe I’m being unfair with the album, but it felt to me like it begins strongly, with the best song, and slowly loses the special touch it had in the first place. This deceived me a little because I got all excited with “Dedication” (the song) and finally didn’t exactly found what I was expecting.
In all, I didn’t really found anything exceptional from Rome, nothing that totally blasted my mind. However, it still is a good album with good songs, good voice and good music. Does it differs from Sublime With Rome ? Why, yes, of course. It is Rome’s only. But you won’t get big surprises, big “Omg, what, how!” ; fans will remain in the same comfort zone, especially when you get by the end. Still, “Dedication” and “Seasons” are songs you should listen to and Rome Ramirez is a breaking through artist that will probably go far !
