Caroline Says - The Lucky One

Caroline Says The Lucky One Label Western Vinyl Erstveröffentlichung 11.10.2024 Format LP Lieferzeit 4 – 7 Werktage Preis 22,95 € (inkl. MwSt. zzgl. Versand)

vinyl-only

Drittes Album mit recht großen zeitlichen Abständen der Texanerin Caroline Sallee, die auch hier sehr introvertiert zu Werke geht. Ihr Gesang ist leicht somnambul, die Songs schweben oft schläfrig aus den Boxen. Dann gerät die Instrumentierung aber doch etwas üppiger, mit kleiner Band, Piano und Pedal Steel. Dennoch sind die Songs nicht Country, sondern eher zeitloser Melancholia-Indiepop mit einem Hauch von Dreampop? Ihr teils gedoppelter Gesang ist kühl und unaufdringlich, ebenfalls weit entfernt von allen Country- oder Folk-Klischees. Einen zarten Westcoast-Einfluss vermag ich ebenso zu erkennen wie Besinnliches von Joni Mitchell, Indigo Girls, Tara Jane O'Neill, Laury Nyro - introspektiver Pop mit zartem Hippie-Vibe. Caroline macht hier alles selbst obwohl die Instrumentierung immer bunter wird. Hier mal ein kleines Mellotron, dort eine sanft pluckernde Beatbox vor wabernden Keyboardflächen und sogar ein paar Streicher und Holzbläser der Effekt ist derselbe: alles zerfließt im wattigen Dream- und Kammerpop. Perfektes Album zum nebligen Spätherbst. (Joe Whirlypop)

Caroline Says' haunting new album, The Lucky One, is a poignant exploration of how the ghosts of past relationships linger, sometimes holding more sway over our hearts and minds than our current connections. We revisit these ghosts through evocative landscapes of our memories - hometown bars, road trips, and late-night swims. Through a series of fractured and persistent memories these songs capture the bittersweet realization that the past, though imperfect, can sometimes be a more comforting and meaningful companion than the present. Opening track, "The Lucky One," confronts death's role in shaping our memories head-on, as it ponders the way death freezes a person in time, forcing us to confront the complexities of grief and its lasting impact on our relationship with the one we lost. Other tracks delve into the complexities of relationships that naturally grow apart as life takes us in different directions. For example, "Faded and Golden" reflects on the bittersweet nature of reunions with old friends, where the idealized memories of youth can clash with the realities of the present. Then, "Actors" takes this a step further, acknowledging the influence of perception and desire in friendships, and the idea that in many ways "all friendships are imaginary friendships," as it confronts the disappointment of inauthentic connections, and the facades we sometimes put on in relationships. "Roses" began when Caroline was looking through her grandma's collection of commemorative Kentucky Derby glasses, each one etched with the name of a winner. The song delves into the story of "Sunday Silence," the horse that won the year Caroline was born. Researching the horse's journey from near-Triple Crown glory to retirement in Japan sparked a metaphor - a pressured being (the horse) desperately trying to please but ultimately disappointing. The owners eventually selling the horse becomes a relatable symbol of unmet expectations, and the sting of falling short despite our best efforts. Album closer, "Something Good," revisits Caroline's Alabama childhood. Lost on a recent trip to Birmingham, unable to find the familiar path to a riverside hangout, the experience becomes a powerful metaphor; we can't always retrace the paths in our memories, but those memories, however unreliable, continue to shape us. In the end, The Lucky One celebrates this enduring power, acknowledging how past relationships and experiences, even those lost to the haze of time, continue to inform the stories we tell ourselves, and the way we navigate the present.