Haroula Rose’s ‘Catch the Light’ is an evocative look at finding life’s bright spots – out now

NEW YORK – June 17, 2022 – Haroula Rose‘s third album, Catch the Light, out today, is full of loving and longing, evocative confessions that document the shadow of sorrow that roots beneath every joy. Rose’s music is dreamy, reflective and tender, and the songs on Catch the Light feature a wide cast of musicians who helped create the sweeping, spacious arrangements, including the incomparable Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Phoebe Bridgers, Daft Punk),  Benjamin Lazar Davis (Okkervil River, Cuddle Magic), Will Graefe (Okkervil River, Petra Haden, Sam Amidon), Joachim Cooder and Molly Parden.

“The Nature of Things” is all about slowing down: the final single, released in May, is sweetly contemplative, a deeper look at what it means to appreciate that life is about the people that we love and not necessarily the places we go or the things we accomplish.

Rose released four other singles from the album: a reimagining of Chris Stapleton’s country-rock hit “You Should Probably Leave”; Rose’s version strips the song down to a piano ballad, a choice which Americana UK noted, for “​​[the] simplicity of purpose that draws the listener in.” Other previously released tracks include “Happenstance,” which examines the experience of loving someone we cannot help; “Spades,” which Under the Radar praised for its “soul-baring lyricism” and “darkly haunting melodies”; and “Time’s Fool,” premiered by The Bluegrass Situation, is a harmony-laden piece featuring Molly Parden.

The title of Catch the Light is also a cinematographic reference to her work as a filmmaker. Since her last album, she’s released her debut feature as a writer and director, the highly acclaimed “Once Upon a River,” which was celebrated as one of 2020’s most anticipated films by TIME and Filmmaker magazines, winning 19 awards at 40 festivals worldwide. The “Once Upon a River” soundtrack was a collaboration between Rose and acclaimed artists such as Rodney Crowell, Will Oldham, JD Souther, and Peter Bradley Adams, with a score by Zac Rae.

Rose’s fans will likely recognize the imprint of June Tabor, Joni Mitchell, Judee Sill, and Bonnie “Prince” Billy weaved throughout the album, but the lesser-known but hugely influential Víctor Jara, the Chilean artist and activist who was assassinated in 1973, was also an important guide. Rose covered his song “Luchín,” about a child living in a cruel world who finds solace in his inner life, after finding its themes to resonate with the political and social upheavals of 2020.

Rose sings like she’s telling a secret: a style the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter can perhaps owe to the many years she spent shyly composing and playing her haunting melodies alone in her native Chicago – while there, she worked at Steppenwolf Theater and Earhole Studios as a producer and vocal performer, and attended the University of Chicago, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She also attended USC’s MFA program, and was a Fulbright Scholar in Madrid, where she was a writer and educator.