It's a headspace that began in a similar world to the offbeat electronic universe that she and Jenny had carved out, understandable given the length of time spent honing that craft, before she took the leap of faith into a new palette, a new collection of influences, and a new way of writing.

"They started as synth-pop songs, but later down the line, I decided I wanted to make it all a guitar record; the core of the songs stayed the same, but that made it feel even more distinctly like a different project.

"Then with the way we recorded it," she adds, "we were in Wales tracking a live band with bass, drums, and guitar altogether, which is so different to anything Jenny and I have done before, so it just made it its own thing entirely."

Speaking about the recording process, one during which she and her band took over a rural Welsh studio, it's clear that using the rugged, ever-changing landscape brought in a natural, earthy connection that even she couldn't have predicted.

"I absolutely loved it," she recalls. "We were in this converted chapel studio and just did nothing but record and talk about music."

She adds: "I guess having the space and the magic of Wales was just a real refresher; it was a completely new scene. It made me realise how much the environment can feed into how the music turns out, like just being in that magical place away from everything just made it so easy.

"We'd rehearsed before, so we just went and played the songs, and then we just sat by the fire in the evening, played games; it was incredibly wholesome. It's the opposite of a rock and roll lifestyle, but that's what made the best album to me."

There is a misconception that, for art of any sort to really sing, it needs to have come from hardship, from pain. What 'Tell Me It's A Dream' highlights, though, is that sometimes taking out all the pressure and overthinking from a project can let ideas flow, open up avenues never previously considered, and ultimately just make a Really Very Good record.

"There was no point along the process where I thought, 'This is going to be released and heard by people', which is why I find it so difficult now to comprehend that actually it is coming out – because I was just in a room with my friends making songs!"

That sense of liberation from expectation is, in many ways, the string that weaves the whole album together. Rosa's stream of consciousness vocals point to an artist not remotely concerned about whether what she says is universally understood; it is how she was feeling at the time, and that's the whole point.

Add to that the soaring, objectively fun and carefree chorus of 'Sorry Anyway' and flecks of new wave inspiration from bands like The Pretenders – clearly deciphered in a picked, Chrissie Hynde-esque guitar line in 'Romance is Dead On' – and The Cure, and you land upon the wholly individual and widely alluring soundscape of 'Tell Me It's A Dream'. There are also two Christmas mentions, just in case you needed further evidence that Rosa's going to just do whatever she wants, and who are you to stop her?

"[The sound] came together very naturally in the studio. It didn't feel like there were any points where we were sitting down and thinking, 'Oh, let's make this sound', it was just about what the songs needed."

"I absolutely hate referencing tracks in the studio," she continues. "People in the past that I've worked with have asked me, 'Oh, what track should we reference for the sound?' I hate doing that; I don't understand what the point of that would be. I'm not trying to replicate something."

It was this refusal to re-tread old ground that, once it was clear a solo project was forthcoming, really set Rosa on the path to guitar music. After all, what's the point in doing the same thing twice?

"I'd get so bored if I was just doing one thing, repeating the patterns, repeating the formulas, like, that would completely defeat the point for me," she admits.

"Experimenting and moving forward was one of the reasons why it felt right for me and Jenny to do solo records; we need to constantly mix it up, try new techniques and ways of writing, so that's what this is, I guess!"

For any diehard Let's Eat Grandma fans reading this: don't worry, the band are still very much together. In fact, the separate processes of two individual solo records has, if anything, brought the pair closer together, with Rosa admitting that no small part of her taking the leap into the solo realm was inspired by Jenny jumping off into that particular pool first.

"The fact that we're both in this together, even though they're staggered, has been really good, because I think I might have found it weirder if that hadn't been the case."

She continues: "We really do spot each other; I'm always sending her things, being like, 'Oh, is this merch t-shirt good?' because I really trust her creatively, and it's good to have someone like that who's on the outside that's able to give really good advice."

Looking forward to release date and beyond – something which she openly admits she hasn't thought much about – Rosa is committed to persisting with the same nonchalance that she had in the recording room. The tracks are down, the masters are finished, so what is there to worry about?

"I really feel like I've achieved what I have hoped and dreamed for through the process of writing and making the record: that's the most important thing for me.

"I'm happy that people get to hear it, but the achievement had been making this with all of the people that I care about and having everyone involved. That's why shows are going to be really fun as well, because that's an extension of that."

She continues: "In the past, I think when me and Jenny were starting out, we had these dreams of playing Japan or Jools Holland, but I can't really compute that as a dream now – I mean obviously I'd love to do both, but I just want to keep writing songs and doing this as a job. In reality, that's what I'm hoping for."

Taken from the June 2026 issue of Dork. Rosa Walton's album 'Tell Me It's A Dream' is out 5th June.