Send "Caitlin Rose " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 The easier it becomes to get access to any and all kinds of music—and information on that music—the more aware we become about what different genres do, what their conventions are, how they use structure—hell, even what topics they address. This makes (or should, anyway) for a wider knowledge of music, but it also might make you question if an artist is the genuine article in a particular genre. Like the listener, the musician has the same access, and we’ve seen plenty of bands turn into quasi-professional music theorists, applying elements from different genres adroitly but often without rhyme or reason other than it sounds (at best) great and (at worst) just different.So how do you know when someone is genuinely steeped in a genre, when they find focus in both learning tradition and crafting their own space within it? Well, you’ll know when you hear a singer like Caitlin Rose. When I say she is a country singer, I don’t say that to exclude all the other things she is at the same time—a clever wordsmith, a pop siren, a charming frontwoman. No, I say it because she embodies the soul of a country singer in all the best ways. The young Nashvillian’s debut album, Any Side Now (available last year in Europe, and now finally released in the states) is country without being quaint, poppy as all hell but never overly light, twangy in a way we recognize but not by the numbers. Rose surrounds herself with effective players, who kick up a country dust to float in the sunburst of her singing, but it’s Rose’s songwriting that makes these songs distinct and powerful. Like the equally excellent Jessica Lea Mayfield, Rose writes songs that are wise beyond her young age, but where Mayfield shrouds us in depressive shadow, Rose smiles at us with boundless charm throughout the record. This may prove all the more dangerous, since most of the time—while she smiles at us, doe-eyed and seemingly innocent—she’s sneaking a sharp blade between our ribs....full text |
| Clatl |
| With a name straight out of a hillbilly love song, Caitlin Rose clearly has plenty of her Nashville hometown heritage ringing in her sweet voice, her gentle loping melodies and her introspective stories. Keeping a slow but steady groove throughout her first full-length release, Rose smartly surrounds herself with good pickers that support and accentuate her gentle vocals. She really scores when Chris Scruggs' sweet steel guitar adds a nice honky-tonk undercurrent to the tunes. Lyrically, Rose gives a very modern perspective on classic themes of love and relationships. While wrapped in a traditional cloak of sound, her thoughts and feelings provide some unique insight into the world of today's young lovers, be it shared designer cigarettes or the foibles of dating in the Big Apple. This ain't exactly Tammy or Loretta's country music, but it holds up quite well as an alternative to Music City's mainstream diva dredges....full text |
| Guardian |
| 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....full text |
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