Fresh off SXSW, Caroline Rose is ready to break through boundaries
Caroline Rose seems to show a completely new side of herself with every album she has released since she began recording music about five years ago.
It's been tempting to wonder if each record is actually showcasing a new persona behind the microphone.
With "America Religious," Rose's 2013 debut, she had the vibe of a coffeehouse dweller with an acoustic guitar and an impressive collection of "Queen of Rockabilly" Wanda Jackson albums. On her 2014 breakthrough, "I Will Not Be Afraid," she immediately made an impact upon the Americana scene as a vocalist of hardscrabble rootsy tunes in the vein of Lucinda Williams ("Passionate Kisses"). On the heels of "Afraid," fans were curious to see what direction she would take next.
With her newest album, "Loner," released Feb. 23, it's much easier to answer that question by saying, "All of them," than to attempt to list all of the influences found on the album. At times reflecting an artistic mindset that must have been dead set on leaving the presumed limitations of the Americana genre, the songs on the singer's latest disc reflect a mood in the studio that brings a willingness to experiment.
Elements across the musical landscape come together to form a strange hybrid of punk/dance/EDM featuring lyrics that would be at home within the catalogue of many folk artists.
"I can definitely say with 100 percent certainty that this (new sound) was my choice. I think what happened when I put out (“Afraid”) was that I'd never really..." Rose begins, before pausing for a moment to collect her thoughts, then continues, "it was my first album that I'd ever put out with a team around it, and it received a good deal of press. And I realized fairly quickly that the world I had created for myself with that record was very limiting.”
She knew then she would need to build her career differently if she wanted the freedom to experiment beyond the Americana genre.
“Right away I was thrust into this Americana world,” she said. “I think I'll always love that type of music due to relating to that storytelling type lyricism, and the simplicity of being able to sit down with one instrument and create the music you are feeling. But I realized that arena is very small and doesn't allow for a lot of sonic growth.”
She said she came to this realization “the hard way.”
“I still owe a lot to the people that helped me on that album, and love that kind of music,” she said. “But as far as building a career out of it, I really wanted to spend some time significantly thinking about what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it."
It took some time to make a body of work that reflects her self-described “manic” personality, which carried over to the musical influences, she said with a laugh.
"One second I feel extremely joyful, the next I can't get out of bed,” she said. “It just took a while to make that, as it’s hard when you're feeling all those kinds of emotions, and it's hard to make something cohesive out of a whole variety of different styles.”
Rose said she often loses interest in albums that sounds the same from beginning to end. She wanted to avoid similar pitfalls in her own album.
“I think artists have fallen into a very easy area where we like to point our finger at the listener for not having enough of an attention span, but we should ask ourselves what we're doing that isn't holding their attention?” she said. “It's an artist's job to reflect the way people connect with music now, and we can't get away with just putting out the same sound anymore."
Rose is calling during a pause in the action at South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival in Austin, Texas, before coming to Chapel Hill’s Local 506 on March 30.
She is in the midst of a promotional tour for “Loner.” In Austin, she takes the stage multiple times throughout the festival, performances that are now being talked about as star-making moments for the artist. No one knew this at the time, as she answers the question of who thought it was a good idea to book her for an interview at 9 a.m. during the festival with an exclamatory laugh, "That's what I was just asking my manager! I was like, 'I'll do it, it's just that I might sound a little crusty.'"
It’s been a rigorous experience, she said, with every day full of performances and obligations.
"We're still pasting ourselves back together after last night,” she said. “I woke up this morning feeling like I'd been hit by a full truck, and we've still got three more days scheduled. ... The real struggle in playing the festival is just in trying to make it to (performances) in time. It's more of a struggle to find time for a good soundcheck than to get people's attention, just because there are so many bands playing on so many stages, and so much free swag it's hard to keep up with everything."
But for a new band who is just getting started, SXSW has proven to be invaluable.
“I have ran my own gamut of struggles in just trying to get the album released, just trying to get my career jumpstarted, and I've hit points already where I've questioned if I even have a career,” she said. “So I'm just happy to be playing these shows with a band that really rules, a band that is full of really good friends. As much of a chaotic mess as this week is, it is the best mess ever."
Details
Who: Caroline Rose, with WASI
When: 8 p.m. March 30
Where: Local 506, 506 West Franklin St., Chapel Hill
Cost: $10 to $12
Info: 919-942-5506 or Local506.com
This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Fresh off SXSW, Caroline Rose is ready to break through boundaries."