Caroline Rose says “Tell Me What You Want” on their new single.

Photo Credit: Cristina Fisher

Caroline Rose’s The Art of Forgetting, out March 24th on New West Records, is a “brave document of turmoil and heartbreak full of sumptuous arrangements and powerful lyrics” (Bandcamp). Today, Rose presents a new single and video, “Tell Me What You Want,” which chronicles conflicting feelings nearing the end of a relationship. Although the album largely deals with regret and grief, loss and change, shame and the inevitability of pain, on “Tell Me What You Want” Rose’s impish humor pops up unexpectedly: “I’m beating my head // Against the dashboard of your compact car // Just tell me what you want // Testing testing // Is this thing on? // Boy, you’re gonna hate this song // Tell me what you want.” It showcases the kind of dark comedy with which we’ve become familiar in their catalog, fusing upbeat melodies with oft-hilariously deflating lyrics.
 
Rose further elaborates on “Tell Me What You Want”: “When I listen to this I really feel for myself during that time. My head was like a cesspool of voices trying to tell me what to do. You know, the end of a relationship can be so confusing. There are all these emotions swirling around and really no handbook. You realize when all your attempts to connect with your partner aren’t working, you either have to find a way to stick it out or leave… And both options suck. This song is about being in that pickle of desperation, between trying to protect yourself and feeling the immense guilt and regret of walking away from someone you love.”
 
Additionally, Rose and director Sam Bennett announce The Art of Forgetting short film, which is a loose recreation of real life events. Each of the film’s three chapters weave together a story of Rose navigating a transformative heartbreak. The “Tell Me What You Want” video is a chapter of the film, which picks up where the “Miami” video ends.

“It’s strange to recreate things that happened in the past, in the places where they happened, because they are obviously not the same as they were. I was trying to put my finger on this feeling and someone mentioned the Brazilian Portuguese word ‘saudade,’ a sensation that blends nostalgia, melancholy, desire and longing all in one.” – Caroline Rose

 
The Art of Forgetting film will premiere on Thursday, March 23rd via youtube and feature a live Q+A with Rose.  Access to the watch party is open to anyone who pre-orders The Art of Forgetting before March 22. Additionally, there will be two free, in-person screenings of the film on March 24th at a release day party at Tower Records in Brooklyn. Space is limited and RSVP is required. A wide release of the film will take place in the coming months (details to be announced at a later date).

Watch Caroline Rose’s Video for “Tell Me What You Want”

Caroline Rose will embark on an expansive North American tour this spring. Following, they’ll head across the pond to Europe. Tickets for all dates are on sale now and a full list of dates can be found below.

 
Watch the “Miami” Video
 
Listen to “Love / Lover / Friend”
 
Watch the “The Doldrums” Visualizer
 
Pre-order The Art of Forgetting
 
The Art of Forgetting Film Screenings
Info available at www.carolinerosemusic.com/taof-film
Thu. March 23 – 3pm ET – Youtube Livestream & Q+A
Fri. March 24 – 9:15pm ET – Brooklyn, NY @ Tower Records [RSVP required]
Fri. March 24 – 10:15pm ET – Brooklyn, NY @ Tower Records [RSVP required]
 
Caroline Rose Tour Dates
Fri. March 31 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Arthur Zankel Music Center
Sat. April 1 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus
Tue. April 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Wed. April 5 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Thu. April 6 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Sat. April 8 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern – SOLD OUT
Sun. April 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Tue. April 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Wed. April 12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Fri. April 14 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Sat. April 15 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
Sun. April 16 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Tue. April 18 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Wed. April 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. April 21 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall – SOLD OUT
Sat. April 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Sun. April 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Tue. April 25 – Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
Fri. April 28 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Sat. April 29 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Wed. May 3 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Fri. May 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Sat. May 6 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
Sun. May 21 – Guadalajara, MX @ Corona Capital
Sat. May 27 – Hamburg, DE @ Nochtspeicher
Mon. May 29 – Cologne, DE @ Stadtgarten
Wed. 31 May – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall
Thu. 1 June – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
Sat. 3 June – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Sun. 4 June – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
Mon, 5 June – London, UK @ HEAVEN
Wed. June 7 – Brighton, UK @ Patterns
Sat. June 10 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Bogen F
Tue. June 13 – Brussels, BE @ AB
Wed. June 14 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso (Upstairs)
Fri. June 16 – Paris, FR @ La Hasard Ludique
Sat. June 17 – Mannheim, DE @ Maifeld Derby
Sun. June 18 – Duisburg, DE @ Traumzeit Festival

Keep your mind open.

[I’ll tell you what I want: For you to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Jaycee at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Caroline Rose takes us to “Miami” on their new single.

photo credit: Cristina Fisher

Caroline Rose announces The Art of Forgetting, their new album out March 24th on New West Records, and presents a new single/video, “Miami.” Rose is an artist known for their wit and satirical storytelling, but for the first time, with The Art of Forgetting, Rose’s music teems with raw, intense emotion. With no guard up this time, they present the type of confessional honesty we’ve only previously caught glimpses of in their work. Of course, Rose’s impish humor does pop up unexpectedly amidst themes of regret and grief, loss and change, shame and the inevitability of pain.
 
After a series of heartbreaking events, Rose had no desire to make a statement, let alone make a new album. It was a time of contemplation and transformation. What transpired was what Rose considers a gradual union of reconnection and growth. Prompted by a difficult breakup, Rose began a deep-dive inward, unknowingly digging up long-buried childhood experiences. All the while, Rose was getting voicemails from their grandmother “who was clearly losing her mind.” These respective moments are pieced throughout the album, offering moments of lightness amidst an otherwise heart-rending story of a person who has forgotten, and is perhaps re-learning, how to love themselves. “It got me thinking about all the different ways memory shows up throughout our lives,” says Rose. “It can feel like a curse or be wielded as a tool.”
 
With this in mind, Rose produced the album using devices and media that embody the characteristics of fading or faulty memories. They gravitated towards instruments that naturally changed or decayed over time: wooden and string instruments, voices, tape, and granular synthesis. They began recording basic layers in their home studio, and  “from there it was about a year of experimenting with those recordings both at home and in a couple other studios–chopping them up into loops and smears, creating modular percussion, and ultimately building any additional parts around them,” says Rose. Layers of vocal arrangements from Balkan-influenced yawps to Gregorian autotune choirs, acoustic instrumentation chopped and mangled like a glitching memory, and dreamlike synths push and pull to create a hugely dynamic soundscape. 
                                                     
Today’s “Miami” is an acoustic-centered track whose chorus of squealing guitars and bombastic drums seems to all but burst out of the speakers. Rose explains: “I’m not one to shy away from drama, and so this was a perfect opportunity to really bring out every ounce of desperation and anger and all those confusing emotions that happen after a big heartbreak.” Rose sings:
 
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
 
The “Miami” video, starring Rose playing a version of themself alongside Massima Bell, was directed by Sam Bennett, and shot at the Austin Motel, Sagebrush, and a sound stage in Austin, and continues Rose’s run of theatrical, storyline driven videos. “For the ‘Miami’ video, I was mainly focused on what would be the most effective way to move people in regards to the two characters and how they interact,” says Rose. “Because this is a sort of loose recreation of some things in my life it was important to me to interpret the feeling of that time as accurately as we could within four minutes’ time. Sam, who is a dear friend of mine and brilliant director, thought a great way to capture that fever-dream-like quality was to create a lot of movement with a continuous shot. He showed me different lenses and cameras to use and we ultimately went with an anamorphic, Old Hollywood-esque feel, which gives it that nostalgia thinking back on a time past.”

 
Watch Caroline Rose’s Video for “Miami”

“Every time I make an album I’ll come out of it learning a lot about myself,” comments Rose. “Now I look back and see the healing of a wound. I feel like a new version of myself. I think one for the better.” 

This spring, Caroline Rose will bring their energetic live show across North America and the UK/EU. Newly-announced dates are on sale Friday at 10am local time and a full list of dates can be found below. 
Listen to “Love / Lover / Friend”

Pre-order The Art of Forgetting

The Art of Forgetting Tracklist
1. Love / Lover / Friend
2. Rebirth
3. Miami
4. Better Than Gold
5. Everywhere I Go I Bring the Rain
6. The Doldrums
7. The Kiss
8. Cornbread
9. Stockholm Syndrome
10. Tell Me What You Want
11. Florida Room
12. Love Song For Myself
13. Jill Says
14. Where Do I Go From Here?

Caroline Rose Tour Dates:
(new dates in bold)

Fri. March 31 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Arthur Zankel Music Center
Sat. April 1 – Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus
Tue. April 4 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Wed. April 5 – Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Thu. April 6 – Boston, MA @ Royale
Sat. April 8 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
Sun. April 9 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls Theatre
Tue. April 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Wed. April 12 – New York, NY @ Webster Hall
Fri. April 14 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Sat. April 15 – Richmond, VA @ Richmond Music Hall
Sun. April 16 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Tue. April 18 – Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Wed. April 19 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Fri. April 21 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall
Sat. April 22 – Milwaukee, WI @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Sun. April 23 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Tue. April 25 – Denver, CO @ The Gothic Theatre
Fri. April 28 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
Sat. April 29 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Wed. May 3 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Fri. May 5 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda Theatre
Sat. May 6 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
Wed. May 31 – Manchester, UK @ BOTW
Thu. June 1 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
Sat. June 3 – Glasgow, UK @ Stereo
Sun. June 4 – Bristol, UK @ Exchange
Mon. June 5 – London, UK @ Heaven

Keep your mind open.

[You don’t have to travel far to subscribe.]

[Thanks to Jessica at Pitch Perfect PR.]