Rosalie Cunningham's 'Two Piece Puzzle' - Album Review

Whilst there are a lot of bands and artists out there who are trying to keep the psychedelic rock vibes of the late 1960s and early 1970s alive, one of the best exponents of the sound in the 21st Century for me is Rosalie Cunningham. There are plenty of bands playing fuzzy, bluesy, late 1960s rock - but few artists really capture the bounce, and almost whimsical nature, of the psychedelic movement. Cunningham has been excelling at it over the past decade or so, however, as the recent release of her second solo album Two Piece Puzzle certainly showcases. I started listening to Cunningham's work properly in 2016, when I saw her previous band Purson at The Junction in Plymouth. I had been hearing quite a lot about the band during the couple of years leading up to 2016, but it was not until this local show that I actually started to pay attention. I am generally not a fan of psychedelic throwback acts, but Purson were so much more than that - with plenty of hard and progressive rock influences on display too. After the Plymouth show I really started to listen to the band's handful of releases in a big way, and saw them again that summer at the Cambridge Rock Festival. Sadly, however, by the end of the year the band were no more - with Purson being another promising young band added to the long list of those who never fulfilled their potential (for whatever reason). Despite being a band, however, Purson was always very much Cunningham's baby. She wrote the vast majority of the band's songs, and played most of the instruments on their albums. I was certainly going to follow her endeavours after Purson, then, and it was with excitement that I listened to her self-titled debut album (which I reviewed here) when it was released in 2019. As I said at the time, Rosalie Cunningham could have really been Purson's third album. I had wondered which direction Cunningham would take following the band's disillusion, and whether she would look to reinvent herself, but it seems that the sound she forged with Purson is where here heart is. As a Purson fan, Rosalie Cunningham was a triumph - and it was great to hear Cunningham continue on with that sound outside of the confines of the band. I was looking forward to seeing what she would do next, and in February I found out when she released Two Piece Puzzle. Two Piece Puzzle follows three years after Rosalie Cunningham, and once again continues Cunningham's forays into the sounds of the late 1960s and early 1970s. For me, though, Two Piece Puzzle is easily the most progressive rock-influenced album that Cunningham has penned to date. There are plenty of similarities to her previous work, but the arrangements throughout the album feel much more complex. She definitely seems to have pushed herself here, and the result is one that is familiar yet expansive at the same time.

As is typical of her work, much of what is heard throughout Two Piece Puzzle comes from Cunningham herself, although there are a number of guests featured on the album. Her partner Rosco Wilson contributes additional guitars throughout, whilst the drums are handled by a mix of Wilson, Antoine Piane, and Pat Kenneally. There are a handful of other guests featured here too, but Cunningham has long proved that she can stand on her own when it comes to most instruments - with Two Piece Puzzle being a true solo album as a result. The album kicks off with an instrumental piece, Start With the Corners, which starts with some distant guitar melodies that gradually get louder as a Hammond organ is added into the mix. Fans of the Hammond organ will find plenty of its distinct sound throughout the album, and the instrument really helps to ground the songs here in the desired time period. Start With the Corners is more guitar-orientated, however, with a number of jaunty leads setting the tone early on - whilst occasional heavier sections that feature prominent basslines and roaring organ add depth. It is a song that nicely sets the tone for the rest of the album - as well as acting as the perfect intro for the two-part Donovan Ellington which follows. For me, this album is not as immediate as Cunningham's previous work, but Donovan Ellington hit me from the off - and the two-part song is easily one of her best compositions yet. It has a great mix of pop melodicism, psychedelic atmosphere, and prog virtuosity - with Hammond-led sections that remind me a lot of Jethro Tull's 1972 opus Thick as a Brick. Depth is added throughout by the violin of Ric Sanders (Soft Machine; The Albion Band; Fairport Convention), and his contributions really elevate the song for me - with his soaring melodies adding to the pomp of the Hammond and Cunningham's cutting guitar melodies. Vocally, Cunningham sounds as great as ever - her slightly deep voice and knack for a whimsical melody sitting perfectly against the song's grand backdrop. Her playful melodies add further to the Jethro Tull comparison, and the first part of Donovan Ellington sounds very much Tull-inspired. The second part is folkier, however. Sanders' violin remains, but some bouzouki and mandolin from Darren Jones add to the song's folk rock depth. Almost all of the heaviness from the song's first part has been stripped away here - with the focus being on acoustic instruments and a certain bounce that comes from Cunningham's vocal melodies. The contrast works well though, and for me the two-part Donovan Ellington is easily the album's overall highlight.

The short, largely spoken-word, piece The War follows. Cunningham delivers the track in a rather spooky manner, against a backdrop of strange sounds, but this vibe does not last for long - as the bouncy, vaudevillian Duet soon kicks in. Duet is based around a barrelling piano melody, and features Wilson on vocals along with Cunningham. Appropriately, the song is sung as a duet - with the two trading vocal lines during the staccato, rhythmic verses. Wilson's voice compliments Cunningham's nicely, as the two sound very different, and the presence of two voices singing in something of a call-and-response manner furthers the song's Music Hall-esque aspirations. The song is still rooted firmly in Cunningham's usual sound, but there are also influences taken from prior to the 1960s this time - and the song's video perfectly showcases the vibe that Cunningham and Wilson were going for here. The dominance of the piano helps to further this vibe, and there is not much of a guitar presence at all - that is until an acoustic guitar solo that comes in about half way through. The song does somewhat shift in tone from this point on, and it becomes a bit more typical of Cunningham's usual sound - with much more of a psychedelic vibe. The Music Hall nature of the piece essentially dies, and the track becomes more prog-inspired with effects-heavy guitar melodies and some distant vocals which repeat until the song slowly fades out. Another lengthy song, Tristitia Amnesia, follows and it introduces yet more new vibes to the album. The song is generally quite progressive rock-inspired, but its early sections have Eastern vibes. These parts remind me of some of Led Zeppelin's more experimental acoustic-based pieces, but the song soon morphs into something more typical of Cunningham's sound. An acoustic base remains throughout, but some of the sounds used throughout Donovan Ellington return. There is more of an organ presence this time, although it is used in a much more subtle way, whilst 1970s-style synth melodies are used to bulk up some of the guitar melodies. Despite this, however, the song is very much one for the guitarists. There are a lot of great guitar melodies and solos throughout the track, and Cunningham takes a lot of opportunities to showcase her skills as a guitarist here. The lengthy solos here are very enjoyable, and the choice of effects throughout recall many of the the classic progressive rock albums of the 1970s. Scared of the Dark takes a much simpler path. The shorter song puts catchy melodies above all else, and the song is a memorable piece of psychedelic pop rock as a result. It reminds me of some of Purson's singles from a few years ago, and generally the progressive rock vibes that have been present throughout the album up to this point are absent here - although the overall feel from the album remains intact. The guitar playing is still generally drenched in effects, and the Hammond organ is once again put to good use as a scene-setter. The fuzzy piece of pop rock is sure to go down well live, and it helps to add something a little more overtly melodic and poppy to the album - which is generally dominated by more complex pieces.

God is a Verb is another short, interlude-esque, piece, but unlike The War it is a 'proper' song - with Cunningham singing against a simple acoustic guitar and keyboard backing. It has an old-school folk/singer-songwriter vibe to it, and it acts as a nice bridge between the relative pop of Scared of the Dark and the album's closing two pieces. Suck Push Bang Blow immediately changes vibe following the acoustic God is a Verb, and it is probably the album's heaviest track - thanks to both a creeping guitar riff and a dense keyboard presence. The song sounds like a bit of a mix of The Doors and Black Sabbath musically, and there is plenty of big riffing throughout. It is done in a way that enhances the overall vibe of the album well, though - and the song does not sound out of place despite its relative heaviness. This is aided by the fact that the song is not purely just a heavy rock track. The riffing throughout has that feel, but much of the song is still very typical of Cunningham's sound - with plenty of playful vocal melodies and sections that ease up on the riffing to allow more psychedelic vibes to permeate. The album's final piece, The Liner Notes, loses all of the heaviness of the previous song, and goes for much more of a whimsical feel throughout. The is a jazz vibe too, thanks to the shuffling drums of Piane and the busy piano playing of David Woodcock, which suits Cunningham's laid back vocal approach - but the song does grow in stature over time. The jazzy sections are always returned to, but the song does get rockier as it goes along - with the opening chorus often returned to in a much crunchier manner, in a way which again recalls Purson's albums. The Music Hall vibes of Duet are also returned to briefly, too. The song takes a bit of a turn about two-thirds of the way through as it morphs into a piano-led pop song - before returning to one last reprise of driving, psychedelic chorus to close out the album. It is also a song that seems to sum up the overall vibe of the album nicely. This is because Two Piece Puzzle is an album that is easily Cunningham's most diverse work yet - but also very much grounded in what she has been doing over the past decade or so. There are moments here that recall her past, but there are also a lot of new sounds which shows that she is continually wanting to expand her horizons. This makes Two Piece Puzzle a very interesting and rewarding listen, and it reinforces my opinion that she is one of the best out there that is currently capturing the sounds of the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The album was released on 25th February 2022 via Esoteric Antenna/Cherry Red Records. Below is her promotional video for Duet.