Bozeman Magazine

Whitney Rose may be a native Canadian, but the sound the young singer-songwriter has crafted for herself is entirely Texan twang. On January 27th, Rose will release the new EP South Texas Suite. A collection of six songs, the project is the follow-up to last year's Heartbreaker of the Year, produced by Raul Malo of the Mavericks. On South Texas Suite, however, Rose goes it alone, producing the entire EP by herself. Songs like lead single "My Boots" – available today on iTunes – and the south-of-the-border tribute "Three Minute Love Affair," a paean to the Lone Star State's dance halls, bristle with local flavor. Now residing in Austin, Rose cut the record at Dale Watson's studio in town. To promote South Texas Suite, Rose released a video love letter to Austin and her unexpected musical approach. The mini-docu captures Rose in the studio, on stage and on the dance floor, an arena with which she's become entirely fascinated. "As soon as I moved here, I immediately fell in love with watching people dance," she says. "When you're on the floor with somebody … you're lovers for three minutes." Other songs on the EP include the wistful "Lookin' Back on Luckenbach" and "Blue Bonnets," a soaring slice of Fifties ear candy that calls to mind the Skyliners and Dion and the Belmonts. The latter isn't a stretch: one of Rose's first recordings with Malo was a cover of the Ronettes' "Be My Baby."