When Roses From Bones first arrived on our doorstep, they came with a heartfelt message, one that perfectly summed up the message behind the music. Simply put, Chris Fritz, the musician, singer, songwriter, producer, designer, and everything else behind Roses From Bones, is an Aries and an ENFP, a lover of light beer, and handyman, Zelda fan, and self-confessed Shakespeare nerd. He’s a fan of Twenty-One Pilots, Florence & The Machine, Taylor Swift, Kanye West, and Polyphia, and he’s a son who recently had to say goodbye to his father.
After a tragic accident befell Chris’ father in November 2020, he’s moved back to his hometown where he did his best to keep the various strands of his life from untangling. Sleeping on an air mattress in an unfinished back room of his father’s house, he made the pledge to finally learn how to produce his own music, and in the weeks that followed, the emotive single of ‘Guillotine’ arrived. A challenging, but deeply fulfilling project, ‘Guillotine’ took shape from countless hours on Logic Pro X and behind a ‘blanket fort’ mic booth, before the whole thing was mixed on earbuds and beat-up Hyundai speakers.
The result of this makeshift studio is something that is both surprising and wonderful, and as ‘Guillotine’ unfolds and let’s loose its textured indie-folk sound, you can hear the subtle shades of life breaking in and clouding the mix. For some releases, these subtle additions might ruin a track, but for an artist whose music frequently emphasises emotion, storytelling, and human vulnerability, it’s absolutely magical. Beyond the background noise though, Chris has created a song of undeniable beauty and relatable pain, delivering an evocative wave of rustic, melancholy vocals, ambient acoustic guitar, and a haunting, folk melody that will hang over you for hours.
A song that is all about growing up and facing flaws, ‘Guillotine’ is a perfect example of a song stripped back to its bare essentials and yet still offering more than all the biggest hits in the charts combined.
When speaking of ‘Guillotine’, Chris remarked that it was his best work yet, and in truth, it’s impossible to disagree with him. His first ‘fully solo’ project, the song is everything we needed to hear today, and we can’t be more impressed by it.
You can stream the single in full above via Spotify, as well as on all major music platforms.
Score: 8.5/10
Connect with Roses From Bones,
