It’s been seven and a half years since I reviewed this next artist. I haven’t been avoiding her, it’s just the result of having a large music collection and going through it in random order.
Disc 1895 is… I Will Not Be Afraid
Artist: Caroline Rose
Year of Release: 2014
What’s up with the Cover? Looks like someone’s been playing with those odd shapes in the Spirograph kit.
When I was a kid the “odd shaped” Spirograph pieces were part of the new and improved modernized Spirograph. No longer just circles, you got a football shape, a curvy triangle and an “X” as well as an “extra arm”. Yeah, Spirograph…plus!
If you know what I’m talking about you are probably of a certain age (or you clicked on that link). If you don’t know what I’m talking about you would probably prefer I talk about this record. OK, fine.
How I Came To Know It: I first heard about Caroline Rose through this record and I’ve been a fan ever since. Problem is, I don’t remember how I discovered this record. In my defence, that was twelve years – and a lot of records – in my past. I have a recollection of a stop-motion animation video for “Blood on Your Bootheels” but you think I could find it on Youtube? Reader, I could not.
A deeper Google search suggested the video was made with stop-motion Skittles so maybe it was a copyright thing. Too bad – it was a cool video…but the music’s what matters, and I’ve got that.
How It Stacks Up: I have four of Caroline Rose’s six studio albums (I still haven’t found 2012’s “America Religious” and I haven’t gotten around to buying 2025’s “Year of the Slug”). Of the four I do have, I put “I Will Not Be Afraid” in at #2. I originally had reserved top spot for it, but looking back I think 2018’s “Loner” (reviewed at Disc 1181) is top dog.
Ratings: 3 stars but almost 4
As an artist Caroline Rose does what she wants how she wants. This creates a lot of different albums, and some may appeal to you more than others. I expect she is fine with that. “I Will Not Be Afraid” is relatively early in her career, and that “do what I want” vibe is in full flight. It is mostly welcome, generating a lot of different styles and approaches to her music. There are occasions where it gets a bit unfocused as a result, but I don’t mind, and Rose wouldn’t care if I did.
You’ll find pop, country, rockabilly and folk elements all mixed in on “I Will Not Be Afraid”, as Rose tries on different ways to deliver her message with the thoughtful artistry of a veteran shopper in a vintage store.
The record opens with “Blood On Your Bootheels”. This was the song that introduced me to Rose, and over a decade later it holds up well. It features a heavy and infectious bass line, mixing rockabilly beat with a Vaudeville vibe and a rapid-fire spoken-word delivery. The song has a lot of social commentary, but you may miss it on the first go around. First, because Rose’s delivery is lightning-fast, and second because the song is so catchy you as just as likely to dance around with the energy of it all, rather than playing the critic. I enjoy it both ways.
She follows this up with one of the more country songs on the record, “Tightrope Walker”. Here she sings in a stye reminiscent of Lone Justice’s Maria McKee, with a bit less twang and a bit more soul. Never content with a single genre, you’ll get a circus-style organ mixed in just in case the song might get too country.
And on you’ll go in this way through this delightful record, as Rose stretches her creative wings. It sometimes feels like she has so many ideas and images to express that she’s rushing herself, but it is planned.
Sometimes the style is very evocative of something else you heard (“Red Bikini Waltz” is a straight line to sixties Dylan) but she does it with love - not theft - in mind, and besides, it isn’t like Bob isn’t the only artist to ever sing lines like “But it don’t matter none” in a folksy and wise kind of way. Also, Rose’s exploration of an image and consumer obsessed society would’ve made young Bob proud.
There are times when Rose leads me to a place I don’t love. “At Midnight” is her running her spoken word wisdom through a heavy treatment of the blues. This one didn’t land for me, as I found her singing style a poor match for the approach. I expect each listener to this record will find a song that won’t be “their thing”. This was the one for me.
There aren’t many of those moments though, and I mostly sat in awe of Rose’s ability to navigate a lot of words and never lose emotional connection to the song.
The record ends with the title track. Ironically, this is the most “straight up” country sounding tune on the record, but by this point Rose has unflinchingly established she isn’t afraid to experiment. If anything the straight up approach to this song, full twang ‘n’ jump, is more of a victory lap on a record that stretches to its full length; no regrets, no backsies.
Best tracks: Blood On Your Bootheels, Tightrope Walker, Red Bikini Waltz, Time Spent Money Grow!, I Will Not Be Afraid
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