Caroline Rose offers two sardonic takes on people who are anything but what they appear on ‘Calm’ and ‘Hello Again, Jim’, taken from new album Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall, out October 23 via SUCK records. ‘Calm’ turns Rose’s own mental unrest into a joke at their expense, pairing tongue-in-cheek declarations of being laidback with a persistent guitar riff and driving beat.
Rose’s cool, loose delivery keeps the turmoil largely beneath the surface, but T Marsh’s animated visualiser lets it loose. Clowns, eyeballs, teeth, masked figures and surreal patterns flash through a gloriously overloaded collage, transforming internal chaos into something colourful and absurd.
‘Hello Again, Jim’ turns Rose’s attention outwards, taking aim at a familiar breed of wealthy, powerful music-industry man. A surfy bassline, distorted guitar and steady beat give the track a rockier edge, while Rose sounds simultaneously irritated and amused by their subject. Chloé Aktaş’ black-and-white live video completes the character study, with Jimmi Simpson playing a weary barkeep unable to convince the band to stop. Together, the singles find Rose using humour as a particularly sharp weapon.
