Big moves are being made by the Philadelphia-rooted, North Carolina-based artist Rosali Middleman. Her singer-songwriter venture Rosali has signed with Merge Records in preparation for an early 2024 album release. As her Merge debut, Rosali released a cover of George Harrison’s late-career track “Stuck Inside A Cloud” on August 22nd.
Rosali’s version of the song has a soft, pillowy quality to it, provided by its layers of hazy synths, rhythmic guitar strums and minimal percussion. The aesthetic of the arrangement directly relates to the song’s title. Middleman’s calm, drawn-out vocal delivery adds to the dreamy aura of the track. Its production is a step away from that of past Rosali projects, as her two most recent albums No Medium (2021) and Trouble Anyway (2018) have tended towards more traditional alternative and indie rock territory.
Recently, Middleman has taken on the second identity of Edsel Axle to produce a self-recorded, six-track adventure into experimental electric guitar work titled Variable Happiness. The project was released on Aug. 11th via UK label Worried Songs, and was distributed on vinyl by Forced Exposure. Prior to this endeavor, Middleman has been a member of the Philly-based band Long Hots since 2017. The trio has been playing shows since then, and has stayed fairly active despite Middleman’s move out of the city in mid-2020.
Rosali will be returning to Philadelphia for a show at Johnny Brenda’s on Sept. 6th; tickets are available now on the artist’s website. To stay updated on Rosali’s next moves in this new phase of her career, make sure to visit her on Instagram, as well as Merge Records’ website. “Stuck Inside A Cloud” is available now on all streaming platforms.