ROGUE WAVE - PERMALIGHT (LP)

Rogue Wave Permalight On Vinyl LP

A punchy, deceptively effervescent set of multi-instrumental pop tunes, the Northern California band’s latest set represents a giant breakthrough for Rogue and his longtime musical partner, drummer-keyboardist-vocalist Pat Spurgeon. It’s an astonishing change of direction, to say the least. Formed by Rogue in 2002 after he lost his tech job and parted ways with the Oakland rock group Desoto Reds, Rogue Wave has a reputation for crafting classic, inward-looking pop songs highlighted with psychedelic guitars, pastoral sound effects and intricate rhythms. On tunes from the new album like the title track “Permalight” and “Good Morning,” however, Rogue Wave steps away from expectations with synthesizers that simultaneously sound brittle and blissful. “Stars and Stripes” builds on a deep groove before spilling over in a raging chorus. Then there’s the album’s unofficial centerpiece, “I’ll Never Leave You,” a simple acoustic tune that finds Rogue coming to grips with the overwhelming emotions that come with young fatherhood. Like many of the songs on the album it’s rooted in Rogue Wave’s triumph over seemingly constant peril including the tragic death of a former band mate, reoccuring health issues and the band’s undying determination to push forward.

Rogue Wave Permalight Track Listing

1.  Solitary Gun
2.  Good Morning
3.  Sleepwalker
4.  Stars and Stripes
5.  Permalight
6.  Fear Itself
7.  Right With You
8.  We Will Make A Song Destroy
9.  I’ll Never Leave You
10. Per Anger
11. You Have Boarded
12. All That Remains