“GRAVITY SESSIONS” by Rosetta West

From the deep underground of Illinois blues rock, Rosetta West rises once more with Gravity Sessions—a seven-track live recording that captures the soul of a band both rooted in tradition and reaching into the mystic unknown. Released on June 7, 2025, this latest offering marks a return, not just to form, but to a kind of spiritual center. Recorded mostly live at Chicago’s revered Gravity Studios, the album is raw, immediate, and vibrating with intention. Led by founding songwriter Joseph Demagore on vocals and guitar, joined by longtime drummer Mike Weaver and bassist Herf Guderian, Rosetta West strips things down without losing the intricate textures that have defined their sound since the ’90s. There’s no polish masking the bones—just conviction, chemistry, and a clear reverence for the music. Producer Doug McBride’s deft touch on the board helps translate the studio energy into a recording that feels as alive as a flame.

The opening track, “Dora Lee (Gravity),” resets the tone for longtime fans, offering a haunting reinterpretation of a familiar song. The gravity here is not only in the studio’s name—it’s in the weight of memory, of repetition reimagined. Each chord feels deliberate, each phrase carried like a ritual. This is not nostalgia, but renewal. The standout track “Suzie (Gravity)” arrives next, a swirling mixture of blues grit and psychedelic shimmer. There’s a looseness to the arrangement that serves the song well—tight in rhythm, yet open in spirit. The live feel invites the listener into the room, into the breath between notes, into the quiet moments that studio perfection often erases.

Throughout the album, hints of world folk instrumentation and spiritual lyrical undertones thread themselves in and out of the blues rock fabric, giving the album a meditative depth. From the opening track “Dora Lee (Gravity)” to the closing song “Venous Blue (Gravity),” Rosetta West delivers a performance that sets a high standard for what a live album can be. The superb musicianship and thoughtful production don’t have to rescue the album—they elevate what is already a compelling and cohesive collection. They are, as ever, seekers before anything else. And though the collection leaves a certain hunger—nothing quite settles, nothing clings—the impression it leaves is lasting. This is not a weakness, but a promise. Gravity Sessions is not a final statement, but a turning point. A gesture toward something greater. Unbound by time, place, or trend, Rosetta West remains defiantly itself. And with Gravity Sessions, they step forward—not away from their past, but deeper into its essence. It’s a quiet evolution, recorded in real time, and ready to echo outward.

Garcia Penned 🖊️