Tulsa emo/post-hardcore band glistens with hope and empathy in 2019 EP “In Us We Trust”

A message from the Make Oklahoma Weirder team : this article was originally written by Evan Jarvicks in 2019 and is being released as part of MOW’s “VVeirder VVinter Vault” of 2023.

“Let me make one thing clear: This is our year,” proclaims Rose Gold on its latest EP, In Us We Trust. Yes, it was.

Anyone following the Tulsa emo/post-hardcore band in 2019 might easily substantiate the bold statement with Vanguard ticket stubs, tour posters, or the continuous stream of social media love from fans. Rose Gold was everywhere in the alternative rock scene, and February’s In Us We Trust was the emotionally supercharged spark that put the band into top gear.

However, it would be a mistake to attribute the pronouns used throughout the record to just the band. The “our year” quote from track 2, “A Sudden Gust of Wind”, may seem braggadocious on the surface, but a fuller understanding of the album’s themes reveals that its lyrics are anything but self-centered. In Us We Trust is a Millennial & Gen Z creed that screams out both to and on behalf of entire generations. It was their year, too.

Indeed, a lot of angst-heavy music has been pouring out of Tulsa’s underground lately with young bands grappling to make emotional sense of life in the 2010s. Much of it purges the depression and anxiety that has come along with the world’s inescapable magnifying glass on all things personal and global, political and social. Few releases, however, offer more than a faint light at the end of the tunnel.

That’s where Rose Gold stands defiantly apart from the rest. While wrestling with plenty of problems, it offers glistening bounties of hope that outshine the darkness. In Us We Trust is not just an album that helps its audience feel heard. It also empowers listeners to charge forth into their unknown futures, braced with the timeless tools of love, empathy, and free will that the album places squarely in their hands.

Rose Gold’s lead vocals are, like much music of its genre, full of exasperated screaming and shouting. Some will automatically bristle at this, which is a shame since there is a much wider spectrum of emotion pouring into and out of these vocals than such listeners are likely to recognize. These songs are like rallying cries at the frontline of battle, motivated by courage and energized by passion. To write them off as simply angry is shallow at best.

The band’s post-rock-influenced guitar and drum work swells like an inspirational soundtrack to these grand speeches. Glistening pedal tones and broad chordal brushstrokes build into some of the most gorgeous music of the year. It helps the album achieve a powerful feeling of momentousness and triumph.

As its title indicates, In Us We Trust scraps all faith in the status quo, opting instead for reliance on oneself and one’s fellow person. “Our fates are at your fingers,” the title track states. The album is also a strong reminder of the butterfly effect and the concept of tipping points as two critically valid reasons to never lose hope. As the second cut of the album wisely relates, “A break in the weather and one in the wing / A sudden gust of wind changed everything.”

In both genre and message, In Us We Trust is transcendent. It is a prime example of why music matters and how it can be used to truly make a difference. It shines a beacon of light through to the core of an anxiety-ridden zeitgeist and outstretches a loving, understanding hand. When clasped in kind, that hand leads confidently forward into tomorrow, pursuing betterment and paving the way for a brave new decade.