Minnesota winters can be tough, and 2018 – 2019 was no exception. The Last Revel, a band composed of musicians from Minnesota and Wisconsin, know these deep, dark winters all too well, and their new song, "Roses," and its accompanying video capture that mood with masterfully executed artistic expression.

About the song, The Last Revel have this to say:

"Roses" explores seasonal depression from a partner's point of view. Depression often leaves in its wake a great deal of heartbreak, and what we decide to do with the pieces changes everything. This feels different for everyone, so with the music video, we wanted to leave something up to interpretation while also making a powerful artistic statement.

The song opens with the Last Revel's Rachel Hanson singing, "It's been a hard year for the roses," a line that tips its hat to the Jerry Chesnut-penned song recorded by George Jones (and later, Elvis Costello), "Good Year for the Roses," flipping that title on its head in demonstration of the deleterious effects of winter on flora.

The video, produced by Erik and Sarah Elstran, depicts the winter of our discontent; this is not the Minnesota winter of postcards showing verdant spruce trees blanketed in fluffy snow. This is a scene of grey skies, grey ice, and leafless, lifeless, skeletal trees reaching fruitlessly skyward. Against these scenes, Hanson implores, "I'm bitter and empty / And begging you, say we'll be fine." Only when the song nears its conclusion do we get a flicker of flame — a glint of hope.

Although that's one interpretation of the video, the filmmakers don't want to push a message too far one way or another. "Our goal to make a video that could be openly interpreted by the viewer," the Elstrans said in a shared statement. "We felt that the song had many meanings, and wanted to reflect that through obscured shots and overlays."

The Last Revel, for their part, were impressed. "Erik and Sarah are an incredible team," the band said. "We knew their creative strength would shine through, and it was a lot of fun to work with them on this."

Late last year, The Last Revel were in Nashville, Tenn., recording their forthcoming album with producer Alison Brown. That album, titled Fool's Spring, is anticipated for release in May 2019. The band recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to assist in financing the new record.

An album release party is scheduled for Saturday, June 8, at the Turf Club in St. Paul.

External Link

The Last Revel - official site