Three years after their last record, Caroline Rose is back with a new album called ‘The Art of Forgetting,’ released on March 2023. In a recent interview with the Broken Record Podcast, the singer talked about the personal nature of this new work and how it felt to perform its tracks.
Answering a question about their feelings on the now-completed record, Rose said:
“You know, you’re catching me at an interesting time ’cause, you know, I wrote these songs a while ago now, and I wasn’t sure what I was even gonna do with them. I thought they were just songs that I wrote to kind of help me through this difficult time. Then, it ended up being pretty clear that it was an album. It’s finally coming out, which – I’m really proud of it as a body of work. I think it’s by far my strongest material, and I’m really proud of that.
I think it’s really beautiful, but there’s something else that – It’s like it’s bittersweet, I think, because it’s really difficult for me to have to keep reliving this stuff. [Laughs] You know, now that it’s finally coming out, I’m like, ‘Wow! Did I just shoot myself in the foot, putting out this really painful material?’ That’s on me, though. You know, I did this to myself, really. So, it’s a mixed bag.”
‘The Art of Forgetting’ was born out of a difficult period for Rose. They had to stop performing due to the Covid-19 pandemic after launching the ‘Superstar’ album, and their personal life was on the rocks. In a different chat with Them, the artist went into more detail on how these issues influenced their recent songs.
They explained:
“I think the groundwork was being laid when I released my last album [‘Superstar’] because it really broke me in a lot of ways. When you put so much time and effort into your career, it leaves very little for the rest of your life. I was losing myself, which is hilarious because that’s pretty much what the album was about. And it ended up becoming this bizarre, self-fulfilling prophecy.
I was just slowly forgetting how to love myself. By the time all the shows got canceled, this relationship that I was in was just cracking and fraying at the seams. I felt like I had really no control over it because I had really no understanding of myself at that point. I was really lacking self-compassion, confidence, love; you name it.”
Claiming that they chose songwriting in an attempt to find a way to cope, Rose continued:
“Looking back on it, I think I was really losing my mind a bit from it all. I think I felt so desperate to feel better, and I also felt so stupid in knowing how to do that. That’s not a very poetic way of saying it, but that’s really how I felt – like I was an idiot learning how to do life. Like being a child and learning a language.”
In addition to the album, a short film was released on March 23, following Caroline Rose and her partner’s story, with previously-released music videos serving as chapters.
You can watch the singer’s interview in the video below.
