Miracle Fortress "Five Roses" (Secret City)
By Ryan Harig
Wednesday. May 23, 11:21 AM
Songs for the traffic lights before dawn.

A lot of times when I am hanging out with a group of friends, be it driving or at a party, we are listening to music. It's kind of like a game to see who can pop in that one rare disc that the group of us haven’t heard yet, but are waiting to blow up our lives with like certain albums did in high school. Then there are those albums that I never get to play for anyone else. The ones that I listen to almost just as much but whose purpose is only for my private moments. The last few minutes before sleep, in my car on the way to work, or outside on my lunch break. Some of these albums are even in my subconscious, bleeding through my mind while I tackle the day’s chores.

When I heard Five Roses, I knew I had found one of those rare discs: the type of album that literally encompasses those fine moments of serenity and peace by oneself that we all too often take for granted. This album’s 12 intricate, glowing, pretty tracks are one of the most calm and serene little bits of musical joy I have not had since I bought Bed's The Newton Plum in Greece and listened to it on a ferry crossing from Athens to the Mediterranean islands. When I think of the setting sun on that trip, I think of the climaxed moment of all the quietness I had on my own, when my mind was clear and my most private music shined so well. It’s just like when I listen to "Beach Baby," "Hold Your Secrets to Your Heart," and the gorgeous title track off this great album. It is an experience: happy and heartfelt, tragic and soft, like those hushed traffic lights early in the morning before everyone wakes. It is a phenomenal experience, and yet I don’t want to rant too hard about it, because it is solely mine, and that’s the way I like it.

If you know at all where I’m coming from, and you love those private moments like I do, then Five Roses is highly recommended. It’s a grower, I admit, but it’s well worth the listens.
www.secretcityrecords.com

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Ryan Harig

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