"I’m a bartender in Brooklyn, and spend most of my life on *that* side of the bar" says Jon DeRosa. Having myself spent a couple of years holding the fort in an East London boozer, obviously, I was intrigued. Man, the things you see from ‘that’ side… ‘Birds of Brooklyn‘, starting off as a downbeat gravelly barytone ballad telling romanticised tales of some regular faces, picks itself up slightly with its pace, as the trumpet joins in and silences get filled and the listener’s caught up in a warmly orchestrated parade a la Beirut, quite far from the original Cat Stevens-ey melancholy. DeRosa, whom we find for the B-side covering 1962 Nick Charles track ‘Sunday Jealous‘ – released this single a week back as the first off his debut solo album, ‘A Wolf In Preacher’s Clothes‘, which on November 5th will be available thoughout Europe thanks to a recent deal with Rocket Girl; following a performance at this year’s CMJ Festival, we’re expecting to find new dates announced soon – stay tuned.
