Miss J is known for her spirited fusions of rock and house music, and her latest album, “ROCKHOUSE,” continues to push the boundaries of this fusion style. From the opening seconds, the album announces itself as a collision: electric-guitar riffs crash into thumping house-style pulses, brass and funk licks swirl into rock-pop swagger, and raw emotion sometimes gives way to dance-floor abandon.
Underneath that collision is Miss J’s core impulse: to refuse box-ticking. As described by a profile of the album, she asked herself: “Why keep genres in their own lanes when they hit harder together?” In that sense, ROCKHOUSE acts as a manifesto: an album seeking to unite head-bangers and dance-floor die-hards.
The opening track acts as a sort of overture to the album with a runtime of just under one minute, but quickly gives way to “Numbing The Pain,” one of the highlights of the album. This track features breathy pop-rock vocals combined with bluesy textures in the instrumentation. The arrangement pulls back at moments, allowing Miss J’s voice to ride over shimmering instrumentation, and then surges into heavier guitars and brass. That ebb-and-flow dynamic makes it one of the more emotionally resonant moments on the album.
Meanwhile, “22424,” released earlier as a single, stands out for its emotional weight. Even though the title implies something more cryptic, this track stands out for its lyrical guts, covering themes of heartbreak, betrayal, healing, and empowerment. All of this emotion is wrapped up in a relentless groove that surges to match the emotional intensity.
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The production on ROCKHOUSE walks a stylistic tightrope as it needs to balance between the two genres. On one hand, there’s a sense of discipline and polish that suits its hybrid ambition. The mixes tend to emphasize punch, with guitars that are often gritty but clean. The percussion and basslines are prominent, and the rhythmic backbone leans heavily on house-inspired grooves rather than traditional rock drumming.
ROCKHOUSE isn’t a subtler or more introspective kind of record. It doesn’t hide its intentions, but declares them instead; pushing genres together, blurring expectations and letting the music do the rest. In that spirit, Miss J delivers something compelling; a record that feels like a party crashing into a rock show, or a rock show melting into a club set.