"Bulletproof" by Rosetta Fire
Review
It seems very odd that in 2026 I'd still be considering the effects of lockdown, but talking recently to Rosetta Fire's Jimmy Lapworth about their forthcoming single "Bulletproof" (out on 25th September), I realised that complex events impact differently upon different artists.
To me, the band were one of the significant ones on the local scene before the pandemic and subsequent to that, I felt it was best just to support existing artists as they re-emerged at their own pace and not risk adding pressure by hassling any about what they might be up to. Some of course sadly don't seem to be making music any more.
However Rosetta Fire began picking up the pieces when the time was right for the members (and there has been one lineup tweak) and that's the story of why they appeared at the ‘Hot Music Live Presents' fundraiser for The Tin this July. The time was ripe.
I don't know about you, but I really felt I detected a particular verve in their performance that evening & a zest for playing again. Obviously not everyone there will have seen them prior to 2020 and understandably took them as they found them that night: which was in itself impressive. However talking to Jimmy (and to other members on that evening), I think I'm correct: they are firing on all cylinders and I'd say any attempt to make up for lost time is paying off in them raising their game still higher than before.
And I believe you can hear this in the single also. I've always felt that the common thread in Rosetta Fire songs was that they were all very emotionally charged (and when your lead singer has a voice as soulful as that of Ant Gliddon then you can really make the most of this): and the band would be the first to point out that in many cases the emotions evoked are powerful yet not especially benevolent.
Which in fact is the case here.
The track actually snarls straight into life with choppy, angsty guitar which they describe as verging on the punky and this serves to amplify a lyric which deals with the problem of benevolently intended actions backfiring: aiming to help but instead "creating a monster".
This spirals rapidly into a position wherein the protagonist becomes "mistrustful of human relationships" and you can sense the intense vulnerability which ensues. It positively oozes out of one's speakers.
What with attention grabbing, spiky music in alliance with high intensity performance & edgy themes, this is the band back with a mighty bang. Of course being spiky & edgy only really works if those aspects are anchored by a sympathetic & solid rhythm section, so credit to bassist Emily Knight and new drummer Kev Stanley (though he's hardly new to these pages in other contexts).
In a way, that's probably all you need to know to (hopefully) convince you to engage with the single & to go & see them play (they are playing tomorrow, Saturday September 19th, at HMV Banbury at noon so you haven't long to wait). But nevertheless, there are other indicators of their very positive state of mind at the moment. One is that they decided to make the recording sessions for "Bulletproof" as memorable for themselves as possible: and they greatly enjoyed working with Matt Terry at his Vada Recording Studios near Alcester with their beautiful grounds. (https://www.vadarecordingstudios.com/)
Look out too for the visuals they've been working on with Luke Spate (https://www.theartofbrotherhood.com/) and MediaByRonny (https://linktr.ee/MediaByRonny) :the video for the single was shot at The Tin.
