Caroline Rose Superstar – 7th Level Music

Top 40 albums of 2016-2020: #’s 40 – 36

I realized that I’ve been running and writing 7th Level Music for five years now, and that the five-year anniversary coincided with the end of the last decade. So, in the spirit of “Everyone loves lists!”, I’ve decided to rank my top 40 albums of the last five years. I went with 40 records after I averaged the number of albums I reviewed from 2016 to 2020 and then chopped that number approximately in half.

This wasn’t an easy task (although my #1 album was quickly determined). The list went through four revisions before I felt it was “right.” Lists like this are always subjective, and there are always good, if not great, albums that don’t make the cut. There were also bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Oh Sees, WALL, and Here Lies Man that had multiple excellent albums within the five-year span that I wanted to highlight, but I opted to choose one from each (another difficult task) in order to get more artists onto the list.

Shall we begin?

#40: CHAI – Pink (2018)

Japanese pop punk? Yes, please. These four ladies have made some of the most fun music of the last five years. They’ve also created their own sense of fashion by trashing fashion standards and love donuts and dancing. There’s nothing to not like. Lead single “N.E.O.” was like a shot in the arm of pure dance-punk adrenaline.

#39: Caroline Rose – Superstar (2020)

Superstar is Caroline Rose’s best album yet and one that covers everything from doing things your own way to the weird world of fame that found her after she released the excellent Loner album. Rose tackles these subjects with her witty lyrics, funky grooves, and lovely voice, starting off the record with a track called “Nothing’s Impossible” and carrying that positivity through the whole record.

#38: The New Pornographers – Whiteout Conditions (2017)

For the record, The New Pornographers saw everything we experienced in the political landscape for the last four years coming as soon as the 2016 election ended. Whiteout Conditions was A.C. Newman and company’s response to the results. He and the rest of the band knew then what was coming, creating songs like the title track (about the rise of white people embracing fear more than ever and dreading what that would cause down the road) and “This Is the World of the Theatre.” It certainly was, wasn’t it?

#37: Mdou Moctar – Ilana (The Creator) (2019)

Simply a beautiful record of Tuareg music that was all about positivity, embracing light, and searching for and finding peace through love and compassion. Moctar is a phenomenal guitarist, creating stunning riffs and power, and cool dude all around. When I saw him live, he was selling Tuareg jewelry at his merch table to support a school he was building back in Algeria.

#36: L’Epee – Diabolique (2019)

This psychedelic supergroup’s debut album is a stunner and seemed to come out of nowhere. It sounds like it was unearthed from a time capsule buried in a small French coastal town in 1966 and combines the powers of Anton Newcombe, The Limiñanas, and Emmanuelle Seigner. It’s one of those records that can instantly put you into a trance or change the mood of an entire nightclub, let alone a room.

There’s plenty more to come. Stay tuned.

Keep your mind open.

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Top 35 albums of 2020: #’s 5 – 1

Here we are. We’ve reached the cream of the cop.

#5: Yardsss – Cultus

This album is “only” three tracks, but one of them is over twenty-three minutes long. The other two are over seven minutes each. Even more impressive? This entire psychedelic / prog-rock album was improvised. Yardsss came in without a game plan and created a monster of a record that you can’t believe was done on the fly.

#4: Caroline Rose – Superstar

This is Caroline Rose’s best album to date. She tackles subjects like fame, flying your freak flag, sex, love, lust, and finding the self with power pop riffs, playful, lovely vocals, and some of her wittiest songwriting to date.

#3: Windhand – Levitation Sessions

I watched several livestream concerts this year, and all were good. This one by doom metal giants Windhand, however, literally gave me chills. That moment came during “Forest Clouds” when I could feel something happening. The hairs on my arms stood up and I couldn’t stop grinning. It was a powerful moment that I needed to remind me that live music will return. Nothing can stop it (or Windhand, it seems), and this entire live album was like being handed a battle axe as a hobgoblin army advances on the city.

#2: Automatic – Signal

I knew right away upon hearing Signal that (A) it was a post-punk gauntlet thrown down at other bands, (B) it was sexy as an underground 1960s dance club in Paris, and (C) it was going to be my favorite debut album of 2020. Everything on this album works at a high level. It makes you feel like a sexy bad ass, and all three ladies in Automatic are such. Tread lightly, however. They’re not screwing around and might whack you with a claw hammer if you cross the line.

#1: Flat Worms – Antarctica

This psych / garage / punk masterpiece by Flat Worms went into my #1 spot upon first hearing it in April 2020 and never moved. It is stunningly powerful and chock-full of killer lyrics about fighting against the rat race, internet addiction, the depersonalization of others, economic inequality, and toxic relationships. This is one of those albums that sounds new every time I hear it. It’s a shame they couldn’t tour to promote it, because this album could’ve and should’ve made them big-time draws.

I’m already hearing good stuff in 2021, so let’s stay healthy and get back to shows and festivals.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Caroline Rose – Superstar

On the cover of Caroline Rose‘s new album, Superstar, Rose is bathed in red neon light, her makeup and the cellophane around her neck making her look like a mannequin that was mostly unwrapped but then forgotten in a store room or perhaps left there when the place went out of business. She is glamorous, sexy, beautiful, and yet artificial in appearance. I might be reaching a bit here, but it’s as if Rose’s message is that images of beauty are often illusions. True beauty lies in true expression of the self, which she superbly does on Superstar.

She opens with the electro-poppy “Nothing’s Impossible,” which combines hip hop beats with bright synths that carry along her lovely voice like a ballon on a warm breeze and ending with space opera keys that melt into lounge jazz. The groovy, fun “Got to Go My Own Way” has Rose talking about her big dreams and moving on from lost love to finding new opportunities. “I was born to be a star,” she claims. It turns out she was right.

Rose embraces her sexuality (again, self-expression is true beauty) on “Do You Think We’ll Last Forever?” as, over a slick bass groove accentuated by handclaps, she sings about lusty sex (“I want to climb inside you every single day.”) and wondering how long it will last (“Do you think we’ll last forever? No pressure, though, just tell me yes or no.”). She gets Zen on the short and psychedelic “Feelings Are a Thing of the Past.” She’s right. They are. The only moment is now.

“Feel the Way I Want” has Rose strutting across the room like Ric Flair on his way to the ring (“I’m lookin’ good, I don’t think it’s a crime.”) before she gives us a lesson on self-expression and not kowtowing to the pressure of pleasing others, as living a life as others expect you to live it (in terms of expression, at least) is a trap. “Everybody’s so quick to sit you down and say, ‘Try to be cool about it,'” she sings, but she’s going to embrace her feelings and who she is instead. Again, the image of beauty is one often put upon us by others.

Need some make-out music? Rose has you covered with the sultry “Freak Like Me.” “My love is a real bad scene,” she warns, but you want to walk into it despite the warning because you know it will be a good time. Rose moves onto “Someone New,” which is a great showcase of her vocals. It’s easy to overlook how good of a singer Rose while you’re paying attention to the dance floor synths and electronic drums.

“Pipe Dreams” opens with what sounds like a train rolling along the tracks, and the opening guitar certainly goes along with that theme before it drifts into a softer space and Rose’s vocals seem to saunter out of the Black Lodge in Twin Peaks. The opening synths on “Command Z” sound like something out of an early 1990’s video game, which means they sound great, and the rest of the track has a neat dark wave feel to it as Rose sings about wishing she could go back to a better past, much like the thick bass-heavy “Back at the Beginning.” “If it takes a lifetime, I will find my true love again,” Rose sings on the “I Took a Ride” – a pure synthwave cut about heartbreak. You leave the album without any doubt she’ll do it.

Why? Because she’s a superstar. She’s someone who has embraced herself as she is and is leaving illusions behind her on the road. She has cast off the masks that others want her to wear. She has forged her own path. We should all be so lucky.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Pitch Perfect PR.]

Caroline Rose gets freaky on her new single – “Freak Like Me.”

Caroline Rose presents a new single, “Freak Like Me,” from her forthcoming album, Superstar, due March 6th on New West Records. In conjunction, she announces the west coast run of her North American tour. “Freak Like Me” follows lead single/video “Feel The Way I Want,” in which Rose “walks a fine, funny line between embodying and parodying Kanye-size arrogance” (Rolling Stone).

As described by Rose, “‘Freak Like Me’ is a S&M-themed love song about falling in love with your dominatrix. The song’s melody is very floral and beautiful. I imagine it as some sort of delicate dress dancing around 17th century Versailles. I wanted to juxtapose this daintiness with grotesque lyrics. I’ve always wanted to write a pretty song with the word ‘vomit’ in it. Paradoxes are fun.”

“I had been wanting to sample Aaron Embry’s ‘Raven Song’ in a beat for the longest time. Then I had this kind of ‘ah ha!’ moment while working on the song on tour. I chopped up the sample, pitched it and it just fit perfectly. It really took the song to another level and completed the paradox.”

Listen to Caroline Rose’s “Freak Like Me”
https://youtu.be/QfV4-v7l5dA

The follow up to 2018’s acclaimed LONER, Superstar is a bigger, badder, glitter-filled cinematic pop record. It’s a semi-autobiographical story of a shamelessly odd hero, or rather anti-hero, on a quest to become a someone. One part satire, one part self-reflection, Rose’s anti-hero personifies much of what we as casual on-lookers are wont to poke fun at, dismiss or denigrate, yet deep down likely aspire to be. Someone who, whether warranted or not, refuses to let anyone dictate their own life’s narrative.

Rose will embark on a lengthy North American tour this spring in support of Superstar. A full list of dates can be found below. Newly-announced shows go on sale this Friday, February 14th at 10am local time.

Watch the Video for “Feel The Way I Want” –
http://newwst.com/crftwiwPR

Pre-order Superstar –
http://newwst.com/superstar

Caroline Rose Tour Dates (new dates in bold):
Fri. March 6 – Albany, NY @ The Hollow
Sat. March 7 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Wed. March 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Thu. March 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Fri. March 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
Sat. March 14 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
Wed. March 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. March 26 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. March 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sat. March 28 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Wed. April 1 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Music Festival
Thu. April 2 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Fri. April 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sat. April 4 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Hall
Fri. April 24 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Sat. April 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall: Upstairs
Sun. April 26 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s
Tue. April 28 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Wed. April 29 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
Thu. April 30 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
Fri. May 1 – Sun. May 3 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival
Wed. June 17 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird
Thu. June 18 – Salt Lake City, UT @ State Room
Fri. June 19 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Sat. June 20 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Sun. June 21 – Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge
Wed. June 24 – Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile
Fri. June 26 – San Francisco, CA @ The Independent
Sat. June 27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Troubadour

Keep your mind open.

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Caroline Rose proclaims she will “Feel the Way I Want” in her new single.

“I realized at some point that I’m not going to fit into any one box, and maybe that’s a good thing. This record is me embracing being an outsider making my own path.”
— Caroline Rose

Caroline Rose announces Superstar, out March 6th on New West Records, lead single/video “Feel The Way I Want,” and a North American tour. The follow up to 2018’s acclaimed LONER, Superstar is a bigger, badder, glitter-filled cinematic pop record. It’s an underdog story, and one not far off from Rose’s real life. After years of struggle to release what would ultimately become LONER, Rose found herself in the midst of a new widespread audience, one both intrigued and perplexed about how and where to place her. This feeling of otherness, combined with a developed set of studio skills and a challenge to “make something from nothing,” marked the beginning of Superstar—the story of a shamelessly odd hero, or rather anti-hero, on a quest to become a someone.

Inspired by cult classics such as The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Mulholland Drive and the mockumentary Drop Dead Gorgeous, Superstar plays out like a film. After the protagonist receives a mistaken phone call from the glamorous Chateau Marmont hotel in album opener “Nothing’s Impossible,” they (gender neutral pronoun) take it as a sign toward a star-studded future and leave behind everything in pursuit of a newly established destiny. What ensues is a cinematic paradox that in one moment finds them strutting down a neon strip in full Saturday Night Fever hip-swing, and the next, sipping a dirty martini at the rundown apartment complex pool dwelling on life’s unfortunate turns. It’s a narrative Rose pulled directly from the somewhat shameless desires of her own growing ambition, as well as the public breakdowns of several notable celebrities. “To me, there’s both humor and horror in hubris and what it takes in order to be successful. I wanted to make a story out of those parts of myself that I find largely undesirable and embarrassing, then inject them with steroids.”

The goal of lead single “Feel The Way I Want” is to “have people, including myself, not know whether to love or hate this person. They’re kind of like a walking eye roll who’s easy to dismiss, but at the same time you admire their determination. It’s the Kanye effect.” The accompanying video, directed by Rose, was made on an iPhone over the course of an 11-day road trip from Hollywood, California to Hollywood, Florida.

Since LONER’s release, Rose began formulating the ideas and songs for Superstar in between the band’s near-incessant touring schedule, from playing sold out headline shows across the country and beyond to becoming fan favorites at some of the world’s biggest festivals. She wrote, recorded and produced Superstar in her home studio, as well as on a portable rig set up in green rooms while on tour.

Superstar will be available across digital retailers, compact disc and vinyl. The album will also be the Vinyl Me, Please”Essential Record of the Month” for March and will be available on colored vinyl exclusively from VMP. Direct-to-Fan and Independent Retail editions will feature an exclusive, fold-out 24×36″ poster autographed by Rose and are available for pre-order now.
Watch Caroline Rose’s Video for “Feel The Way I Want” –
http://newwst.com/crftwiwPR

Pre-order Superstar –
http://newwst.com/superstar

Superstar Tracklist:
1. Nothing’s Impossible
2. Got To Go My Own Way
3. Do You Think We’ll Last Forever?
4. Feelings Are A Thing Of The Past
5. Feel The Way I Want
6. Freak Like Me
7. Someone New
8. Pipe Dreams
9. Command Z
10. Back At The Beginning
11. I Took A Ride

Caroline Rose Tour Dates:
Fri. March 6 – Albany, NY @ The Hollow
Sat. March 7 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Wed. March 11 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Thu. March 12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Café
Fri. March 13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern
Sat. March 14 – Columbus, OH @ Skully’s
Wed. March 25 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
Thu. March 26 – Cambridge, MA @ The Sinclair
Fri. March 27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
Sat. March 28 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat
Wed. April 1 – Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Music Festival
Thu. April 2 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Fri. April 3 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
Sat. April 4 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Hall
Fri. April 24 – Dallas, TX @ Club Dada
Sat. April 25 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall: Upstairs
Sun. April 26 – Austin, TX @ Antone’s
Tue. April 28 – New Orleans, LA @ Gasa Gasa
Wed. April 29 – Oxford, MS @ Proud Larry’s
Thu. April 30 – Nashville, TN @ The Basement East
Fri. May 1 – Sun. May 3 – Atlanta, GA @ Shaky Knees Festival

Keep your mind open.

[Subscribing would feel good for both of us.]