The Roseline’s Keystone of the Heart showcases an Americana group firing on all cylinders

Back with their eighth record in 18 years, Lawrence-based country act The Roseline have firmly cemented their ground as the area’s own The Jayhawks with new record Keystone of the Heart.

Formed in 2007, the five-piece is an even-keel mix of indie folk, Americana, and alt-country, although beginning just as an acoustic folk trio. And after making waves on the European Americana charts, they moved to Dutch label King Forward Records, playing numerous shows in Europe over the years, including a recently just-finished-up three-week run in Norway and Sweden. The band also recently returned from their second tour in Scandinavia with help from Rootsy Music (Jason Isbell, American Aquarium, John Prine).

They have also been lucky enough to find some placements in indie movies and network TV shows, like ABC’s Nashville, as well as USA’s Queen of the South and Netflix’s Virgin River.

Main songwriter Collin Haliburton describes Keystone, their latest venture, as “a protest record which protests the dissolution of a marriage, the slog of existence in late stage capitalism, and grotesque hatred and violence.” A quote I saw claims it “offers pure aural aloe for troubled times,” and I couldn’t agree more.

It all starts off with the title track, opening with some peaceful piano chords and meditative, acoustic guitar strumming. Haliburton comes in to set the tone with his classic country vocals, taking over the track by the time the chorus rolls in. It fully blossoms with the drums in the second verse, followed by the killer line “I’d hate to grow old caretakin’ but never cared for”.

Many of the cuts are met with an acoustic open, like “I Was a Gun,” “Hang ‘em High,” and “Dimed”, only for the full band to come in by the time the chorus kicks in, and many are basic and sentimental ballads.

The fifth track, “In My Way,” follows that path, with some easy going vocal harmonies in the chorus, accompanied by an effortless guitar solo leading into the second verse. Keyboard takes over the song after the second go-around, with Haliburton reverberating, “I’m absent of all sweet common sense, I stutter and stall.” The track ends with some fading organ noises.

The high focus on keyboards is another theme for the five-piece, such as on “Aloneness,” “I Was a Gun,” and closer “Lopsided Luck.” The latter describes a man denying the fact of aging, claiming “some friends have started dyin’ off and he parties and their wakes.” The quiet track ends the 38-minute experience with some vibey electric guitar and piano.

If anything, “Luck” perfectly exemplifies the themes Haliburton is zoning in on with this project—the hardships of getting through all that life has to throw at us. Topics range from accepting what you have, even when it’s not what you had in mind—“Hang ‘em High”—to holding onto something beautiful when down in the dirt—”Saber Rattlers.”

These are nine tracks that seemingly run together, and while it might take time to fully digest what best separates each song, the full breadth of a band clicking on all cylinders cannot be overstated.

The Roseline plays the Replay Lounge on Friday, April 26, with the Deal. Details on that show here.