Rosetta Stone
Dose Makes The Poison
Cleopatra Records
Rosetta Stone are closing in on that strange but not uncommon position of having their second, rebooted incarnation last as long as their original run. Even if one chooses not to count 2019’s Seems Like Forever as an original LP (being comprised of rerecordings of RS main man Porl King’s precedent miserylab tracks), with Dose Makes The Poison King’s stripped down, solo version of the project now has three proper LPs to its tenure as opposed to the two 90s records which established the band as one of the greatest acts of goth rock’s second wave. Moreover, the unity of those recent records – as much a product of King’s honing in on specific themes and aesthetics as his de facto total control of the project – has allowed for a very sustained image of this modern version of the band to emerge, to which Dose Makes The Poison adds some clarity and subtlety.
The way King’s last decade-plus of releases have all combined in this version of Rosetta Stone seems a matter of record at this point: far less bombastic and speedy than the band’s earliest work, Dose Makes The Poison blends the minimalist and utterly black-pilled post-punk of miserylab with the foggy, lo-fi atmospherics of King’s work as In Death It Ends. But it’s in the light flourishes of guitar work that a connection to the broader past can be found. The title track marries the brooding darkwave nod of the rhythm section with a little bit of first wave Leeds elegance in the lightly strummed leads and synth strings, and the downward pentatonic lilt of “Kick The Can” similarly links modern Rosetta Stone back to its earliest days and influences. Heck, switch “Another Exit Wave” into a major key and it could almost be mistaken for The Bolshoi or October-era U2.
Thematically, Dose Makes The Poison is a decided downer to no one’s surprise, but King continues to eschew generalized heartbreak or even aimless personal depression for a blunt and unyielding rumination on just how fucked up the zeitgeist is in 2025. Opener “Dive Down Spiral” and other tracks wrestle with just exactly how many of our fellow humans seem willing to abandon any semblance of empathy or consideration for others at the drop of a hat, be it with regards to the pandemic (a theme which has perhaps emerged as the defining one of the new incarnation of Rosetta Stone) or the wholesale embrace of populist fascism at the expense of wide swathes of the marginalized populace. Social media’s toxic stew of misinformation is also lamented on “Connect The Dots”.
The rate at which King has been putting Rosetta Stone material out suggests there’s at least something therapeutic about writing about these issues, but the above squinting for some hints of new wave litheness is about as cheery as Dose Makes The Poison is liable to get for listeners. But then again, Rosetta Stone’s cult didn’t stay alive during the layoff by being a barrel of monkeys the first time around, and this up to the moment version of the band coming into sharper focus is its own reward.
