Caitlin Rose – Own Side Now

Emerging onto the heavily contested country music scene is recently turned twenty-three year old singer-songwriter, Caitlin Rose, who is awaiting the release of her debut album Own Side Now. This is scheduled to hit the stores on the 9^th August 2010. Caitlin states that she began to write her own songs when she was only 16 years old, taking her influences from punk bands such as The Ramones. However, it wasn’t until she had discovered the Bakersfield songwriter, Merle Haggard, that she began the start of her career. Taking her own independent approach to country music she has almost finished writing her new album, a sequel to the already successful Dead Flowers EP.

The girl from Nashville has created her own mixture of the country and rock genres, although there are some noticeably old-fashioned views within her lyrics, particularly Own Side, which holds a somewhat chivalrous opinion of love and adventure. Many of her lyrics concern the confusion of heartbreak, a subject constantly explored by many musicians; even with her rising popularity, she may find it difficult to break into the market with this over-used theme. Personally I feel Caitlin shows some of her best writing in For The Rabbits: “Why is your love like rubber, he said, a gum stuck under my shoe, leaving it there to avoid the risk of making a mess out of you. Fall back into my hands and arms, fall back into routine.” This song does seem to lack the bouncy atmosphere we hear elsewhere on the album: for instance in That’s Alright and the jazz sampled Comin Up. Her exploration of rhymes will cause listeners to be surprised that these songs have been written by such a young woman.

Although her style reaches far from reggae tunes, I hear a little similarity between her song Learnin To Ride and Bob Marley’s One Love, because of the easy-going and content emotion behind the songs, as well as the similar rhythm. Perhaps she has taken influence from reggae as well as country, which I find interesting as it’s great to see musicians explore the merging of different genres. I always appreciate a young musician who likes to experiment with different styles – especially ones which are less mainstream – and look forward to hearing what Caitlin Rose does with her abilities.

www.thecaitlinrose.com