Let’s get one thing straight: A VIOLET IN YOUTH will build a landscape in your skull, brick by melodic brick, and then set it ablaze with the golden-hour sun. Their track “Desert Roll” grinds its gears on LA asphalt before soaring into violet-hued skies. This is art-rock with a pop heartbeat and industrial-strength bones, and it absolutely rips.
From the first second, the track establishes its DNA—Daniella Lollie’s obsessive, looping guitar work. It’s that signature move she talked about: a progression so complex and emotionally charged you could live inside it. Here, it’s the bedrock. But this isn’t a solo mission. “Desert Roll” thrives on the fierce, trusting collision of five distinct musical minds. Amanda Erwin’s drums don’t simply keep time; they’re the engine, providing a structural drive that’s primal and precise. Holding down the low-end with serpentine intelligence is Kelly Kuhn, whose jazz-trained chops on bass weave lines that are less about following the root and more about painting in the shadows, creating a delicious, unpredictable friction against the guitar.
Then there’s the textural genius. Garrett Zeile’s second guitar and technical engineering insight give the whole mix its sharp, crystalline edge—this track sounds expensive and dangerous. But the secret weapon? Lisa Yan on synths and keys. Classically trained but with the soul of an indie connoisseur, her parts are what transform the song from a great riff into a living, breathing world.
This is the sound of Los Angeles at dusk, exactly as Lollie daydreams it. “Desert Roll” is that perfect, fleeting moment where gritty concrete meets fallen flower petals, where the mechanical rumble of the city harmonizes with a human sigh. It’s structured yet spontaneous, heavy yet beautiful. A VIOLET IN YOUTH bottled a contradiction and served it with rock and roll adrenaline. Press play, and let it roll over you. This is the good stuff.