Description
The latest LP from Philadelphia rock quartet Labrador turns up the heat on the alt-country and mod influences forged on their previous records, 2025’s My Version of Desire and 2023’s Hold The Door Open For Strangers. On the The Rosy Red World, Labrador are a barn-burning bar band bringing influences from the storied, intersecting legacies of anti-war punk, blues, folk, and soul music into the 21st century. Labrador’s weathered, vintage sound isn’t indicative of a desire to return to some idealized fantasy version of the past, but to learn from the history that created destructive forces dominating the present—worker exploitation, corporate greed, rampant xenophobia, genocide in Palestine. This past-present connective tissue is what ignites the mid-album trio of explosive protest songs “Too Much Wanting,” “We Drew Straws,” and “Metaphors for Love,” all of which are built upon fast, bright guitar melodies and a rhythm section that’s as precise as it is rambunctious. Relatively mellower tracks like “Slow Down King” and “Waiting To be Useful” channel the same emotional intensity into slide-guitar-assisted country grooves. As a final nod to their musical and philosophical influences, Labrador cap off The Rosy Red World with a cover of “No Man Is An Island;” the shredding guitars on their rendition of The Van Dykes’ classic soul standard rips it to shreds and pieces it back together, echoing its timeless message of solidarity.
Format / LP
Released / 06/05/2026
Catalogue / NWK-004
Barcode / NWK004
Artist / Labrador
Label / No Way Of Knowing
Genre / Pop / Rock