Fresh off the high of her relative TikTok success, Sydney Rose plans to conquer the world of sad, indie singer/songwriters with her album One Sided.
One Sided, which came out on Nov. 10th, is Rose’s debut record. Living in the heart of North Carolina, the singer grew up immersed in the sounds of the country and folk artists that came before her, which is evident in the overall sound of the album. Tragic narrative lyricism set against the backdrop of soft acoustic guitar, One Sided pulls together all the best bits of its musical forefathers as it sets out to craft a rich and cohesive sound.
Starting with a lovelorn ballad dripping with naïve daydreams and crushed hopes, “Filing Our Papers” sets a precedent for the rest of the album. The song itself follows a simple guitar rhythm but the lack of intricate design does little to hinder the track. Instead, the quiet and unadorned strums of Rose’s acoustic guitar underscore the lyrical picture she is expertly painting. This sound, acting as a through-line of familiarity throughout the entire album, helps the listener follow the track list like an index in a storybook. Each song is a new take on the same narrative: the trials and tribulations of growing up.
Describing a splintered relationship that has been hopelessly abandoned by its two protagonists, “Filing Our Papers” gives insight into the record’s title. Lyrics such as “Yet it’s always one-sided / I’m too excited / It always ends up like this” showcase that the relationship in question is inequitable. Rose sees a domestic future together, one in which she and her partner share a home and file their papers together. But the lines “You don’t wanna see me filing our papers / And you don’t see me in your home” suggest that the other party does not feel the same way. The relationship, as the album’s title implies, is one-sided.
Lovesick and grieving a domestic future born of daydreams, “Filing Our Papers” is the epitome of the teenage coming-of-age story. It exudes the angst of first heartbreak, echoing the experiences of the many young adults who are just starting to find their way in the world.
Track four, “The New Kid,” was the album’s sole single. Populated by the stripped-back swish of fingertips along strings, the song elevates the simplicity of “Filing Our Papers” both musically and lyrically. Guitars harmonize with one another as Rose’s vocalization interlocks expertly with the track, enveloping the listener in a warm hug that feels suspiciously like childhood nostalgia.
The opening lyrics “Friendship bracelets / There will be a million replacements / For when I have to leave / Childhood bedrooms / Turn around and it’s too soon / It’s packed up in a Subaru,” touch on the exposed nerve that is the moving out and starting over. Leaving behind the life she has known, Rose acknowledges that no matter how old you get, you can still experience the isolation of being the new kid.
Rose draws her audience in with this peculiar feeling of loss that is experienced by many young people who are growing up and building new lives away from home for the first time.
“Cool Girl,” One Sided’s tenth track, tries something new with plucky guitar and punctuated vocals. Rose incorporates a variety of electronic production tricks into this song, enhancing the movement of the guitar rhythm and distorting the background vocals. While “Cool Girl” is relatively predictable, both musically and lyrically, it adds to One Sided’s sonically cohesive sound, making it easy to follow.
The lyrics “I’ll be writing poems in the backseat of my mind / Of the cool girl who can take it / Of the cool girl who can fake it” unpack an experience that many young people live through. Balancing what it means to be yourself and what your significant other wants you to be is challenging, and Rose expands on the feeling of losing yourself while trying to appease another. Lyrics such as “I’m a cool girl, I can kiss you / I’m a cool girl, I won’t miss you” further this plot line, shining a light on a culture of one-night stands and emotionless “situationships.”
Rose unpacks the difficulties of being a young hopeless romantic in a society that seems to value disconnected sex between two people whose aim is to seek empty pleasure with no intention to see each other again. “Cool Girl” is a hope for a better life and a more loving connection. But the final lyrics “And you ask me who I am / And I don’t know, I don’t know / So I can’t go, can’t go” suggests that like many young people, she has a long road ahead of her.
Rose wraps up the album with “Throwing Rocks,” a quiet ballad that explores similar themes of love and loss in young adult life. It isn’t anything particularly special for a song whose aim is to wrap up the entire album, but it does its job nicely and the record comes together wrapped in a pretty red bow.
While One Sided may have benefited from a few songs that explored an out-of-the-box musical sound, the album expertly brings together the heartbreak and turmoil that comes with growing up.
