Rosa Anschütz has unveils a very impressive new album. Sabbatical is a record that enchants instantly, yet reveals its full depth only through repeated immersion. It’s a work born from an artistic impulse, steeped in poetic resonance and anchored by meticulously crafted sounds.
Marking her first international release beyond Germany, Sabbatical arrives via Wesley Eisold’s Heartworm Press. The Berlin-born artist, celebrated for her hypnotic vocal presence in the electronic underground, has shares this new chapter which has been long in the making; over a decade.
Minimalist in arrangement, the album is centered on Anschütz’s arresting vocal performances, delivering lyrics which above all are intimately personal, and their poetic nature is undeniable.
Difficult to pin down, Sabbatical resists easy categorization. Plaster Copy stands out immediately with its melancholy being unmistakable. Naturally, almost all of the tracks on Sabbatical defy the traditional single format. The impact is there as standalone pieces, but these songs are artworks that operate outside convention. Like Oxblood radiates a menacing beauty. Chase Pioneers is a raw meditation on vulnerability, memory, and metamorphosis. Poppies In Limelight is haunting and intimate, emblematic of the album’s poetic core. Protect Your Sleep aches in cinematic unease. Sun Tavern is woundedly personal, a quiet emotional touchstone and an instant standout.
The album, though composed of 14 tracks, feels as fragile as spun glass. While it may seem expansive, most songs are brief, and that brevity enhances the album’s spectral quality, echoing the fleeting nature of lived experience. Anschütz’s voice remains magnetic throughout, while the music glides across genres, forming an unorthodox landscape that is inviting and entrancing.
With Sabbatical, Rosa Anschütz kicks down the door of the avant-garde. It hits hard, and it’ll only cut deeper the more one lives with it.
ZR