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Damien Rice, "Rootless Tree"

01st January 2007

This new single off of Damien's Rice most recent album '9' displays a new and darker side of Rice, but still serves as a reminder of his genius. With his albums, fans are familiar with Rice's songs of reflection, tamed desire, and anger. In "Rootless Tree," listeners of Rice get a combination of all those emotions, though nothing is tamed here. He sings about two distant, broken people and then shouts with fervent anger about his longing to be free and "learn to let go." This song may not been seen as a typical Damien Rice song, with melancholy songs such as "The Blower's Daughter" or "Cannonball." However like most Damien Rice songs, the words are weaved beautifully together to construct a heartfelt story and music is applied appropriately to give the song a beating heart. Though "Rootless Tree" is a song about dead emotions, there is nothing lifeless about this captivating single.

Christina Dore