B-Side Guys

Somewhere between numbness and catharsis lies “Rooftop,” the third single from NYC-based storyteller Annika Karody and her first collaboration with guitarist Vincent Edwards. The track transforms the peculiar agony of being unable to cry into a soaring pop-rock meditation that suggests sometimes the best way to process emotion is to climb above it all.

Karody’s Meisner training reveals itself in her precise emotional delivery of lines like “I’ve been catching myself near crying / But the tears won’t well up to my eyes.” Her performance walks the delicate line between control and release, while Edwards’ guitar work provides a shimmering foundation that recalls both HAIM’s precision and the Smashing Pumpkins’ textural depth.

The production particularly shines during the bridge, where layered vocals chant “Out of the gloom that fills my room / these sorrows bloom under the moon.” This moment of near-incantation transforms private suffering into shared ritual, suggesting Karody’s background bridging Desi-American cultural spaces has taught her exactly how to make the personal universal.

Most striking is how the arrangement serves the narrative arc. When the chorus declares “Run away to the rooftop / Lose my faith on the rooftop,” the instrumentation opens up like a sudden view of the Manhattan skyline. It’s the sound of someone finding space to breathe above the emotional claustrophobia described in the verses, where the protagonist is “casting my net far and wide” while trying to push someone out of their mind.

“Rooftop” proves that Karody and Edwards understand something crucial about human nature – sometimes we need physical elevation to process emotional depths. Through their collaboration, they’ve created an anthem for anyone who’s ever needed to rise above their circumstances just to see them clearly.