Whitney Rose Takes a Ride Through Life on ‘We Still Go to Rodeos’

On the opening track of her latest record, We Still Go to Rodeos, Whitney Rose sings, “She didn’t know what she was gonna do / She was doing it alone, that she knew.” Though the rest of “Just Circumstance” lays out a story of a woman who once lived a life of “no pomp, just circumstance,” those first lines capture so much of Rose’s attitude and work ethic that transcend the few minutes of this particular song. We Still Go to Rodeos features 12 tracks written solely by Rose, and it’s her first LP to be released on her own label, MCG Recordings. With Rose at the helm, this record is a paragon for all that she has worked toward and the limitless possibilities she has in front of her.

Produced by Paul Kolderie — who handled production and engineering for Uncle Tupelo’s first two records, as well as Radiohead’s debut, among many, many other great discs — We Still Go to Rodeos is an extraordinary journey through life: love, love lost, and everything in-between. Rose pulls no punches as she weaves together these tales; after the aural perfection that is “Just Circumstance,” she bares her heart, to someone, on “Home With You” as she sings, “I wanna go home with you, be alone with you / Maybe sit out in the yard and get stoned with you / I wanna make you laugh, make you a nightcap or two / I wanna go home with you.” With the help of a highly reputable cast of characters at her side — including the likes of drummer Lisa Pankratz, bassist Brad Fordham, and guitarists Rich Brotherton, Dave Leroy Biller, and Gurf Morlix — Rose’s lyrics and unblemished voice command the listener’s attention at every step of this journey.

Rose and company stand out most impressively on “Better Man,” a brutally honest appeal to a significant other to attempt to live up to the song’s title. The band shines as they come together for the honky tonk-infused rock-and-roll burner, centered around a ripping solo from Biller and Rose’s incomparable songwriting. “I wish that I could see your entire life / Watch it like it’s something on TV,” she sings, “I’d pay really close attention to all the plot revealing scenes.” It’s not merely about holding someone to a higher expectation, but also about being honest with oneself in the face of love: “I wanna prove my own self wrong / Find the switch and turn you on / And see you really can be a better man.”

When We Still Go to Rodeos was first announced, Rose shared with fans, “I don’t want to make the same album over and over again and this one is no different.” While Rose had already secured her place as a distinct, powerful voice in the music world over the last eight years, her new record takes her efforts to a completely new level as she beautifully succeeds in creating a new collection of songs that will live on as one her absolute best.