Rosa Walton - Tell Me It’s A Dream

If one were to ponder where the (completely arbitrary) line between ‘synth pop’ and ‘alternative pop’ was to sit, this debut solo album from Let’s Eat Grandma’s Rosa Walton does a pretty good job at landing right on it. For where opener ‘Heart To Heartbreak’ stands as straightforwardly the former, alongside interlude-of-sorts ‘When Will It All Reveal’ - which channels CHVRCHES in expansive electronic sounds, as well as Rosa’s use of the higher parts of her vocal register - comes ‘Halfway Round The World’, which channels breezy ‘90s mainstays Sixpence None The Richer in its wistfulness, and ‘Prettier Things’, on which former bandmate Jenny Hollingworth (as current moniker Jenny On Holiday), guests, and a distinctly 2000s radio indie pace is followed. It’s sweet but not saccharine; brimming with pop hues, and yet never fully immediate. There’s often a tangible joy – see ‘Sorry Anyway’ in particular – that begs for it to be listened to while twirling around in a circle skirt in full flow. And while its lyrical nod to certain British rock legends (“It’s Friday / I guess I’m in love” and later “It’s a lot like heaven,” goes ‘Wave Machine’) might bring to mind one other solo artist releasing this same month, with sounds that nod to much from the mid-‘80s – see the guitars of ‘Taking The Roof Down’ and closer ‘Romance Is Dead On’ as cases in point – ‘Tell Me It’s A Dream’ should instead be filed closer to fellow synth-imbued Brit indie gang Pale Waves; if anyone has ever pondered what they’d sound like in full technicolour, Rosa Walton’s debut here goes some way to suggesting an answer.