Caitlin Rose: Own Side Now | CD Review

(Names)

Earlier this year, Nashville-based Caitlin Rose released an EP of songs recorded in 2008, which introduced a promisingly wry lyricist unable to decide whether she wanted to sound like Loretta Lynn or Kimya Dawson. On her debut album, the 23-year-old thrillingly finds her own voice. Own Side is sad and strong as she walks away from a careless lover, playful in Spare Me as she dashes off the delicious line: "Love is just one more useless thing you don't need, but you can't throw away." Now pure country, her songwriting has taken a leap, too, delivering a profusion (sometimes an excess) of memorable choruses and arrangements freighted with emotion. Her assurance is most striking in two contrasting songs about self-discovery, New York City and Things Change: the former a ribald picaresque, the latter suffused with regret, set to bruised piano and quivering cymbals.

Contributor

Maddy Costa

The GuardianTramp

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