Song You Need To Know: The Rose, ‘Sour’

Paint us with all shades of joy, for The Rose have returned with new music following their three-year hiatus due to mandatory military service. Composed of members Woosung, Dojoon, Hajoon and Jaehyeong, the South Korean rock band are finally back, this time with their eyes set on healing listeners with their music. Post their discharge, the members shared their notes and experiences from the past three years spent apart, then traveled to Joshua Tree, California, for 10 days where they collaborated and brought their collective voices together to create and record the songs.  

Fronted by “Sour,” The Rose’s studio album Heal was created to bring people together and heal through music, a sentiment that the lead single encapsulates gracefully. The soft, pop-rock track outlines the emptiness and pain that’s born of a heartbreak: “When the teardrops touch my mouth/ I taste the bitterness like you/ Got me speechless and it stung my tongue/ I’ll never get over you.” According to a press release, “Sour” is a tongue-in-cheek ode to the group’s favorite candy and a reminder to cherish anything you love.

There’s plenty to celebrate with this single. On one hand, you have the band’s remarkable understanding of conveying a myriad of emotions through their music, which – in the case of “Sour” – leaves you afloat on a cloud of melancholy and hope. It’s exactly the kind of music you’d yearn to soothe your aching heart with as you push yourself to step out of the depths of pain. On the other hand, you have Woosung’s evocative vocals, accentuating the poignant guitar-percussion arrangement. The jewel, however, lies in the juicy chorus that relies on lush vocalizations from the band members. Subtle, breathy and mellow, the subdued vocalizations allow listeners to surrender themselves to the irresistible soft-rock melody. 

As for the music video, the band keeps it breezy, opting to perform the track outdoors. Alternating between scenic visuals, The Rose are seen performing the track beside a lake, within the canopy of a lush forest, and finally in a picturesque landscape. 

Heal was first teased via the pre-release single “Childhood,” which focuses on the group’s new freedom and rebirth. With their latest partnership with Transparent Arts and Wasserman Music, this is not only a core theme for the band to celebrate but one that needs to be shared with their fans. Shot in an indie film-inspired manner, “Childhood’s” lyrics and cinematography are true to life, signifying the band’s journey into uncharted territory not only with each other but with those who support them along the way.

Since the quartet’s return, the band garnered over one million TikTok followers and sold out a 40-city world tour this Fall, including 6,000 tickets in São Paulo, Brazil, and 4,000 tickets in both Los Angeles and New York. Starting this month, The Rose are all set to take their music to Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila and their home city of Seoul, South Korea, under the Heal Together world tour banner.