A staple of the NYC scene with his ambient collective Aarktica, Jon DeRosa – when solo – croons with a resonant bariton and raconteur draw reminiscent of a less dramatic Nick Cave. The current Brooklynite and New Jersey native will celebrate the release of his full-length solo debut “A Wolf In Preacher’s Clothes” on June 3rd at Rockwood Music Hall. Unlike in some of his previous endeavors, Jon is bringing out his finely tuned vocals, emerging more and more as a singer-songwriter with songs like “Who Decides?” – one of the album’s more upbeat fixtures. The album is marked by an orchestral pop production, where each tune explores a diverse sound structure including, alternatively, layered accordions, piano, steel guitar, strings and horns. Stand out songs like “Teenage Goths” and “Birds of Brooklyn” will intrigue fans of Beirut.
A rounded artist who isn’t happy to stick with one formula, Jon DeRosa is somewhat of a musical enigma, taking inspiration from his diverse background and branding everything he produces with a sense of old world wisdom. – Devon Antonetti