Everywhere I Go

I hear Caroline Rose

I know music is subjective, and therefore folks might not care to read a post about my latest indie rock obsession. But if this substack is meant for me to write about things in my head at any given time, I’ve got to give a shout to Caroline Rose, whose recent performance on KEXP has been stuck in my head pretty much non-stop for the past two weeks.

TL;DR: Skip to the video at the bottom of this article and start at the bookmark (at 8:53) for “Everywhere I Go I Bring the Rain,” and stick around for “Miami.” It might be one of the best KEXP performances I’ve ever seen.

Sometime around early 2019, TIDAL suggested a couple of their tracks to me off Loner. I think the first one was “Jeannie Becomes A Mom,” although it might also have been “More Of The Same.” The songs sounded so fresh and synth-poppy with killer hooks, great production and that distinctive, mega-reverb’d vocal.

Their follow-up, Superstar, got a kick-ass review from the indie rock critic that usually craps all over my favorite indie albums. By March 2020, three singles from the new album had been released, and Rose was getting ready to embark on a tour that would presumably take their career to its next logical level. We all know what happened then.

I caught a couple web performances by them during the pandemic and only sort of followed them over the next few years, until this video popped up in my YouTube feed in late 2022, and I knew something big was happening.

When the full album - The Art of Forgetting - dropped in 2023, I spent a few days drowning in its lyrical darkness, but buoyed by its pop brilliance. One of my favorites - “Everywhere I Go I Bring The Rain” - reminded me of so many tracks off Sam Phillips’ Martinis & Bikinis, which I probably played for a full year or more back in 1994/1995.

And while I loved the whole album, I think at the time a lot of it was lost on me as an “album.” These days I’m mostly into collecting my favorite new indie tracks into playlists.

There was one other section that got to me every single time I heard it, though.

“Y’know, your father and I
Are in the last stage of our lives
So for god’s sake no more talk of
How you imagine dying”

I say this all the time, Ma
But I’m really doing fine, Ma
I’m mean you know sometimes, Ma
Life is just plain trying, Ma

Just because I’m brooding
And wanna kill everything moving
It doesn’t mean I’m losing my marbles
I’m just moody

Clean up all the memories
Sweep the bad under the rug
Put the good inside a coffer
I wish I knew anything
’Cuz even at my best I don’t know why I even bother

This is the hard part
The part that they don’t tell you about
There is the art of loving
This is the art of forgetting how

This is gonna break you
You’re gonna rip your own heart out
There is the art of loving
This is the art of forgetting how

This is the art of forgetting how

You’ve gotta get through this life somehow

I mean … Jesus. Even almost a year later, when I hear the second half of “Miami,” it chokes me up.

Then last month, Rose released this short film focused on those two tracks, along with one more - the other killer song off the album, “Tell Me What You Want.” The film won Best Music Video at Hollywood Shortsfest and NY Indie Shorts Awards, and was a semi-finalist at Cannes Indie Shorts Awards.

(side note - the accepting, understanding smile from one Rose to the other is such a brilliant way to close)

I was watching the film again sometime last week, and YouTube being YouTube, it recommended me their performance on KEXP from a year ago. I hadn’t seen it prior, but I have watched a lot of KEXP performances, and I don’t think I’ve seen or heard a better one. Rose gets a credit as the audio mixer (great mix), and the band here is totally kicking it.

The whole show is highly recommended, but if you only have ten minutes, start at the bookmark for “Everywhere I Go I Bring the Rain,” followed by “Miami” (should start at 8:53).

When Rose gets to the lyrics I printed above, I thought I heard them start to break up a little - and sure enough. Some writing is just magic, channeled from the universal truth.

I certainly hope we get more Caroline Rose music. They’ve inferred this might be their last batch. If it is, I’m glad the universe saw its way to call this performance to my attention. Now I just need to figure out how to stop playing it every single day.