Caitlin Rose

Her debut proper more than lives up to expectations. Lovely stuff 4 Stars - Q Magazine

The vulnerability in Caitlins voice chimes as true as the clink of a quarter in an old jukebox - 8/10 NME

Own Side Now is a beautifully-wrought emotional rollercoaster 4 Stars - The Sun

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Caitlin Rose released her highly anticipated full-length debut album 'Own Side Now' in March 2011. The Nashville born singer has been in a whirlwind of praise from Europe. She made NMEs Cool List in 2010 and the Nashville Scene recently named Own Side Now as 'Best Local Release** you can only get as in import.

Own Side Now is sheer perfection, drawing on her love for the female greats such as Linda Ronstadt and Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Macs Thats Alright gets a delightful airing here) as well as those from a pure country lineage such as Patsy Cline, and firmly places her in the same league. Her Dead Flowers EP showed the budding of a ripe talent, but this time around she has a seriously talented full band to assist in elevating Own Side Now into a different class.

Although steeped in the country tradition, Caitlins music is not constrained by that heritage. Her confessional style and wry observations place her very much in the 21st Century, but it is her heart rending honesty, lyrical prowess and her dextrous delivery of said lyrics that sets her apart from her peers. Nothing shows this better than one of the albums many highlights, For the Rabbits; an epic saccharine-free, strings soaked (arranged by Jordan Lehning) ballad depicting a fractured relationship where she laments Why is your love like rubber, he said / Or gum stuck under my shoe? / Leaving it there to avoid the risk of / Making a mess out of you. Even more remarkable when you realize it was written when Caitlin was sixteen years of age.

The record was co-produced by Mark Nevers (Lambchop, Will Oldham & Andrew Bird), Skylar Wilson (Justin Townes Earle) and Rose at the Beech House in Nashville, Own Side Now slinkily slides between the country pop numbers like Spare Me to the pedal steel fuelled absorption of Things Change. The restraint from all players on this track is astounding with Caitlin ringing the changes with a vocal performance that belies her tender years, hitting the listener square in the guts and leaving one gasping for breath No I never wore your wedding ring/ I regret I never could/ Never mothered your child or seen you/ In its smile.

The title track displays a simpler approach, mirroring Caitlins wish that simple songs needing simple sounds and the avoidance of Broadway bullshit. From its humble acoustic openings it morphs into a majestic soulful gem, with wonderful fragments of tear jerking backing vocals interspersed with a subtle blend of piano and pedal steel. Im on my own side now Whos gonna take me home? / Cause I dont wanna go it alone / Whos gonna want me when / Im just somewhere youve been? Everyone, it would seem, after hearing this particular tune.

As somewhat of a little appendage to the Dead Flowers EP, we are handed a mid album gift in the shape of New York City displaying her joyful wit alongside honky tonk vibes and Shangri-la flourishes, this tale of outsider-in-sprawling-metropolis is another winner, especially when Caitlin stretches and hovers There was acid rain that stained my jeans/Made em go from blue to green/ Made me look just like some kind of/ acid washed up movie queen.

Shanghai Cigarettes with Rayland Baxter on shared vocals serves as another fine example amongst many, with fuzzed out lead guitar and Caitlin riding a swinging rhythm, it sounds like it would happily sit on a Flying Burrito Brothers record.

As we move into the sunset of this glorious debut we are given another taste of her musical gifts in the shape of Sinful Wishing Well. With a smattering a minimal percussion and piano, she evokes the following Though I dont know when Ill hit the bottom/ Ive been falling for so long that I cant tell/ I know that youll never hear me calling/ From the bottom of my sinful wishing well. Yet Caitlin never ever pleads for sympathy or affects whimsy. She simply pours out her soul pure and unadulterated.

Theres no doubt that Caitlin Roses talent is diverse and on the strength of Own Side Now, its not just Taylor Swift who should be picking up all the awards in Nashville. She seems to be singlehandedly breathing new life into a long tradition of American music.

Caitlin has already headlined a Twisted Folk Tour *, played with the likes of *Deer Tick, Phosphorescent and Justin Townes Earle, nd played high on the billing at Bonnaroo and ACL Festivals. Once heard, never forgotten. They used to call it star quality. What do we call it now that our markers are so skewed?