Pretty Face (Ugly Heart). Olivia Rose

It happens, but certainly not every day, that an artist contacts me to point me to a colleague. Please listen, I think you might like this. If so, it's always in the singer-songwriter segment of music. Are these artist more supportive of or less in competition with each other? So it happened that I was directed towards the first song by a young artist by Beth Wimmer, a Swiss-US singer-songwriter, who featured on this blog before -and I'm happy to be able to share with you that she will come with a new album later this year, followed by a tour in the fall.

So, hence I have a song in my possession called Pretty Face (Ugly Heart) by Olivia Rose. Olivia is from Orange County in California and has been exposed to music and shows for much of her life. In her own words "songwriting has been a lifelong passion for me". After working with and learning from befriended musicians she started work on her first single, which is now under review here at WoNo Magazine.

No, I'm not writing that I've heard a mind-blowing new song by the biggest talent of 2017. This is not an Arctic Monkeys or Franz Ferdinand experience. Far from, but, having that behind me, there is something I am hearing that is very much worth while sharing with you.

Promo photo

In this song Olivia Rose is able to catch youthful uncertainty and the will to succeed together in a few minutes. Listening to Pretty Face (Ugly Heart) it is not hard to ascertain that she is working on finding her voice and is on route to do so.

The song is about growing up. Facing facts in life that people are not exactly fair and honest (the whole of the time). Something everyone learns one moment or another in life. Having to be on guard that not all are in the game for the same reasons. Here it is a personal matter, but can easily be seen universally.

Olivia Rose presents this in a very serious way, befitting the topic. The song is stripped to the bone, elementary. Voice and piano that's it. That she is able to look beyond the obvious is shown in the last chorus when she harmonises with herself. Realising that this is just her and her piano, I notice that she forces me to listen. The song has enough inner strength do draw me in. It also makes me wonder what would happen if one day Olivia Rose has the budget to do a little more with her music and record that.

For now it's too early to conclude whether Olivia Rose is a natural talent. What I can say, is that I would like to hear more from her in the future. This incident underscores it. I had put the song on a compilation cd with recent releases. When Pretty Face (Ugly Heart) came by, unexpectedly, it stood out from what I heard before. A good sign. So when there is an EP or album, let me know in time.

Wo.

P.S. I haven't found the song online, so I can't point you to it. Also there is another Olivia Rose from Canada active as a musician. So beware on your search.

(16-2) There's a P.P.S. from Olivia:

https://www.oliviatherose.com/music