Local Review: Pepper Rose — Meetings for the shy

Pepper Rose
Meetings for the shy
Self-Released
Street: 05.28.2025
Pepper Rose = Joy Oladokun + Angie McMahon

As spring returns to the Salt Lake Valley, people will be needing a music refresh ― preferably full of songs that awaken and warm the sleepy winter spirits. Meetings for the shy by Pepper Rose is exactly that, especially since her voice sounds like golden sunshine for your ears.

The album starts with “Spring’s Sprung!” The song has a high energy, maintained by a strong, fast drumbeat and powerful guitar ― key features of the entire album. Rose’s expressive voice is bright and lofty as she weaves a deft melody, a fair bit of cheerful “ladadadadadada” interspersed with imagery-rich lyrics. I think the heart of the album is definitely “Super Hero,” an honest and raw expression of emotions as Rose goes back to her childhood mind: “Kidnapped in this world on fire / I’m a super hero in my mind / I’ve gotta save myself this time.” You feel the youthful hope alongside the struggle as Rose’s voice climbs.

“I live in my head” is my favorite track and not only because it’s relatable. It’s a minor shift away from the album’s mostly major key and gains power from pauses between beats and phrases. It has the ’60s vibe of “Happy Together” by The Turtles, its bass and drums providing a danceable beat that made me nod my head along. The song’s placement in the middle of the album makes it a great balancing anchor but also makes me wish for more songs like it. Every track in Meetings for the shy certainly has its own style and story, but this one really showcases Rose’s potential in leaning even more into variance.

With this album, Rose expertly mixes her cheerful tone with depth, her introspection with hope, and her childhood with her present wisdom. “New Start” is a song of coming-to-terms and acceptance, growing from tentative plucky guitar to a rousing drumbeat. The melody shifts as Rose sings, “So I will pry the bars from my heart / I will try to make this new start / without you.” The final song on the album, “Restless (The Oprah Song),” is decorated with high plinking piano as it oscillates from gentle guitar to powerful chords, illustrating the theme of the song. It really does feel like a journey into the wandering mind of a dreamer.

Meetings for the shy is an honest conjuring of an artist’s childhood, dealing with both struggle and dreams, lost love and slow growth. It maintains an optimistic and earnest tilt, its energetic momentum carrying across the songs. It also holds that flower-blooming, leaf-uncurling, sun-warming, heart-renewing vibe. Or maybe the music is just melding with the springtime and making my brain spark happily. Either way, I enjoyed the album and am now eagerly looking forward to more music from Rose. —Rebekah Bowman

Read more about the best in local music:
Local Review: Macana — Life of Pain
Local Review: Air Vent Dweller — Race to the Bottom