[Cover photo credit to Danny Dodge]
Portland-based band Roselit Bone have shared their new single and video “Crying In The USA.” The song is the latest track to be released from the band’s forthcoming album Ofrenda out August 25th, 2023 on Get Loud Recordings. Roselit Bone has also announced an extensive U.S. tour which kicks off on August 24th in Seattle at Madame Lou’s.
On the song Charlotte McCaslin says:
“Crying in the USA” is a patriotic anthem for a country that doesn’t want to exist anymore. I wrote it at the height of the pandemic when live music seemed gone forever, and many people were laid up with fear watching the collapse unfold on their phones. It often seemed like there was nothing to do but sleep or cry. I was listening to a lot of dancey 80’s and 90’s country as an escape, wanting so badly to inhabit that world, knowing that it probably never existed outside of the songs themselves.
I directed, shot and edited the video myself. I happened upon some matching red bodysuits at a thrift store, and formed my vision for the video around them. I shot everyone against a simple white background, letting the band members’ personalities and varying levels of true discomfort guide the narrative. It captures the chaos of having all of us in one room together, at this pivotal moment where we are emerging from isolation and depression, about to tour a lot, and apprehensively preparing to be “performers” again.
Offering “an explicit but tender look” at Frontwoman Charlotte McCaslin’s inner life, Ofrenda encapsulates “the cycles of loss, survival and rebirth” of the years between albums, which included a divorce, several family deaths, her gender transition, and the beginning of a new relationship.
She reflects:
I feel strange when I listen to our previous album, Crisis Actor. The band played well, but the voice does not sound like mine and the person singing was totally lost, hiding behind characters on most songs. The album title is a hint that I knew this at the time. I’m glad it exists as a document of the turmoil before my transition, but Ofrenda feels more real to me. The band is tighter, my voice is my own, the arrangements are prettier. Where the lyrics are especially bleak, I tried to create a soft place in the music for the heart to rest.
Roselit Bone Tour Dates:
08.24 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
09.03 – Reno, NV @ Loving Cup
09.04 – Nevada City, CA @ Stardust Station
09.05 – Sacramento, CA @ Harlows
09.06 – Chico, CA @ Duffy’s
09.07 – Albany, CA @ Ivy Room
09.09 – San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
09.10 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo
09.11 – Yucca Valley, CA @ The Annex
09.13 – Phoenix, AZ @ Linger Longer Lounge
09.14 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
09.15 – Las Cruces, NM @ The Lighthouse
09.16 – San Antonio, TX @ Lonesome Rose
09.17 – Austin, TX @ Sagebrush
09.18 – Houston, TX @ 1810 Ojeman
09.19 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
09.22 – Nashville, TN @ Springwater Supper Club
09.23 – Asheville, NC @ Fleetwoods
09.24 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
09.26 – New York City, NY @ TV Eye
09.28 – Cleveland, OH @ Happy Dog
09.29 – Detroit, MI @ Lager House
09.30 – Chicago, IL @ Cole’s Bar
10.01 – Milwaukee, WI @ Cactus Club
10.02 – Dubuque, IA @ The Lift
10.03 – Omaha, NE @ The Sydney
10.04 – Wichita, KS @ Kirby’s Beer Store
10.05 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
10.07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Quarters
10.12 – Portland, OR @ Lollipop Shoppe
