Louis Rosen
Life After Before
(Di-tone Records)
November 10, 2026
Reviewed by Alix Cohen
“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” JRR Tolkien
Singer-songwriter-pianist Louis Rosen’s 15th album, and seventh solo album, muses on time, transience, love, regret, hope, and aging. His muse may be primordial.
With accompaniment only by string instruments and spare percussion, music emerges like the kind of folk/soft rock that became the soundtrack of the seventies. Rosen has a soulful, flannel voice. His lyrics are poetic, but no nonsense. They often repeat.
Like age rings on a severed tree trunk, the “Ghost of Desire” reflects time. Emotions grow increasingly thin and flake like bark. “The ghost of desire/In the cut of my hair/In the thoughts I admire/In the dreams that dare.” As desire peels away, raw memories are exposed. Acoustic bass stretches like a cat.
“Everyone Loves the Wrong Someone” is resonant truth: “Love’s a tricky proposition/Gotta trust your intuition/If intuition fails you, just don’t let the church bells chime.” It’s also good Will Rogers-type advice. Twangy guitar creates a homespun feel.
“The Rhythm of the Road” conjures all kinds of wheels, slowed by an unsparing country track, rolling past a hitchhiker. He’s happy as long as it’s sunny. Laconic tempo conjures an old man in a rocking chair remembering.
In “45 Minutes to Somewhere,” the singer stands packed at the station “waiting for the worm to turn/45 minutes to any other place but here/A man could disappear.” One can almost see the dust of trains accumulate as he readies himself. How many pass before he embarks?
“Didi White” arrives to the lilting strum of roots music. “Acting was her trade/But living was her art/Flirtatious in a bar/A dead eye with a dart.” She’s the in-passing connection we ruefully remember decades later, wondering, should I have gone with her/him? Could I have travelled light?
At the other end of the spectrum, “Candace and Me” describes growth and grounding in a sustained relationship through the double entendre of a garden. Plant, water, nurture; get your hands dirty. “And the wars rage/And the seas rise/And this cruel age/Tells us cruel lies must be true/Still one and one make two.” Light layers of music foster coziness.
“Straight, True Love” finds Rosen looking back to his dad: “He showed me how to love/He showed what love can do” and forward to his son: “I love my dear young man/I love him straight and true.” It’s almost a mantra, and it’s palpably warm.
Like all Louis Rosen’s solo work, Life After Before is personal. This CD finds him more settled, less affected by the outside than his last. It’s a jeweler’s loupe view of ongoing meditations.
All songs were written and sung by Louis Rosen, who also played piano and acoustic guitar. He was joined by David Mansfield (acoustic and electric guitar, violin, viola, mandolin, banjo), Pete Donovan (acoustic and electric bass), and Rodney Howard (drums).
