Rosie Tucker releases their third album – and first for Epitaph Records – ‘Sucker Supreme’ on 30 April. The record finds the LA-based singer-songwriter examining their own place in the world amidst personal and political observations – with plenty of wry humor throughout.
The record opens with ‘Barbara Ann’, a bouncy and breezy piece of emo-pop that opens with talk of vegan food and finding ‘a feeling you can’t shake’ before adding in some upbeat ba, ba, bas (there has to be with that title, right?) and passionate shouts of ‘Don’t fuck around’ before Rosie assures the subject that ‘no one’s gonna hurt you’. The lustful recent single ‘Habanero’ quickly follows with its declaration that ‘I need to see you sweat’. This moves on to compatability issues (‘Wouldn’t we be perfect together if we wanted exactly the same thing’) and the first of many amphibian analogies throughout the album as Rosie talks about being a frog. ‘Different Animals’ is more introspective as Rosie recalls knowing someone from somewhere and remembers their – possibly one-sided – feelings amidst a slew of chunky riffs: ‘You can call me anything’; ‘You may never know what I was but you can call me any time’.
The DIY/’home-recorded’ feel of ‘Trim’ instantly brings to mind Daniel Johnston as Rosie describes shaving their legs for the first time in a while and how they feel like a ‘creature of slime in a lake in the city’, while the tempo is turned up in the Weezer-esque hooks of ‘For Sale: Ford Pinto’. This song opens with observations on Rosie’s producer and sometime bandmate Wolfy watching car crashes before Rosie turns attention to themself, this ‘garbage world’ and the concept of time: ‘Time is a trash compactor. I’m feeling pressed but at leas you’re here with me and we’ve got sexual tension’. Next up is recent single ‘Ambrosia’ and then Rosie’s psych-tinged take on Jeffrey Lewis’s ‘Arrow’…. When are we getting that collaboration? ‘Creature of Slime’ is a 44-second piece with floating vocals and a compelling narrative: ‘I’m instantly tired of smashing up the city so I die in my sleep after many happy years’ before ‘Brand New Beast’ finds Rosie positioning themselves in a trapped box: ‘If I could shed you like a skin, brand new beast I would embrace terrarium, happy as I need to be, I feel you peering in’. ‘Airport’ opens with a blast of Braid-esque stop-start guitar hooks and frantic drum beats to surround some dark lyrics – ‘Glossy-eyed python begs me not to cry. I give in to the squeeze. I’m sighing relief. I was always alone. I’ve been dead the whole time’ – before ‘Clinic Poem’ leans further into the sadness: ‘I cried like I was born into the night time’. The penultimate ‘Peach Pit’ is a dreamy and floaty piece packed with Antlers-style emotions – ‘I’m a good kid slipping in the ocean, you’re a good kid caught up in a bad dream’.
The closing song is glitchy and experimental with spoken-word samples of the title: ‘How was it?’ Our answer? Brilliant once again, Rosie. Captivating, charming and candid… Check out ‘Sucker Supreme’.