James Levy and the Blood Red Rose

James Levy and the Blood Red Rose

James Levy and the Blood Red Rose is a United States group built around singer-songwriter James Levy and Allison Pierce, who is a longtime friend of Levy and one half of the folk-pop duo The Pierces. The project centres on duet performances and draws on folk, pop and indie pop influences, with romantic and melodramatic themes running through its songs.

The group’s best-known release is Pray To Be Free, a collection of orchestral, country-tinged songs about passion and betrayal. The record features Levy’s rougher vocal style against Pierce’s clear voice, and its arrangements and duet structure evoke the 1960s pairing of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra.

Among the songs associated with the release are Sneak Into My Room, which uses film-score strings and a melodic chorus, and Positively East Broadway, which moves towards a brassy, lounge-like conclusion and is compared in style to The Divine Comedy. The project is generally presented as a one-off collaboration rather than a long-running group.