Loner (Caroline Rose album)

Rose first gained prominence in 2013 and 2014, when she released her first two albums: America Religious and I Will Not Be Afraid. Both records were acoustic and classified as Americana, discussing topics including farmers’ unhappiness; she had written most of the songs in 2012, when she travelled across America in her van.[6] Rose, however, ultimately concluded that she’d "outgrown" Americana, in large part because it lacked diversity, and as a queer woman, she "didn’t feel fully OK discussing [her] sexuality."[6]

Rose wrote and recorded Loner over the span of nearly three years. She stated that her goal in writing and recording the album was not to create a cohesive record, but instead "bridge together all of these different types of songs that were all me."[5] She commented that, in writing 2014’s I Will Not Be Afraid, she had been influenced by external pressure, so in writing Loner, she attempted to insulate herself from outside influence, instead writing and arranging the album herself, with help from Paul Butler, who co-produced and engineered the record.[5]

The album was noted for Rose’s departure from her acoustic Americana roots, particularly its use of bass synthesizers and drum programming.[6] Her songwriting, which multiple critics described as "catchy," was compared to that of Carole King.[6] However, Abbie Covington, writing for the Nation, argued that although the music’s style was a significant departure, many of Rose’s lyrical themes remained true to Americana, concluding that Rose "may have discarded the Americana label, but Caroline Rose isn’t done with America."[6] Regarding her stylistic inspirations, Rose stated that she was "as much inspired by Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears as it was late '70s punk."[7]

"Jeannie Becomes a Mom," in addition to "More of the Same," was noted for its catchiness.[6] The song was also classified as synth-pop.[5] The song follows a woman in the suburbs of Topeka, Kansas.[8] Rose told Consequence of Sound that she had been inspired to write the song following a friend’s accidental pregnancy; she also called it her favorite song on the album.[3] In a press release upon the premiere of the song’s music video, she described the song as her "first foray into making really fun, sort of weird pop music," and noted that she composed it on an OP-1 synthesizer.[9]

"Getting to Me" profiles a waitress.[6] "Money," a Rockabilly and surf-rock song,[5][10] discusses greed; in the song, Rose argues that money is a more corrupting influence than "religion, the law, even love."[6] "Talk" has been classified as psych-rock.[5] "Smile! AKA Schizodrift Jam 1 AKA Bikini Intro" is a forty-nine second interlude which introduces "Bikini;" in it, men’s voices encourage Rose to smile.[6] "Bikini" was described in the Nation as sounding like "The Beach Boys if Pete Townshend replaced Brian Wilson at the helm."[6]

The album was released on February 23, 2018, by New West Records.[11][4]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
MusicOMH	[15]
Loud and Quiet	8/10[16]
Paste	7.9/10[17]
Pitchfork	7.6/10[18]
Punknews.org	[19]
Sputnikmusic	4/5[1]
Under the Radar	[20]

Upon its release, Loner drew universal acclaim from music critics, earning a score of 83 out of 100 on review aggregate site Metacritic.[11]

All songs written by Caroline Rose.[4]

1. "More of the Same" — 4:08
2. "Cry!" — 3:43
3. "Money" — 2:15
4. "Jeannie Becomes a Mom" — 4:21
5. "Getting to Me" — 3:33
6. "To Die Today" — 3:41
7. "Soul No. 5" — 3:09
8. "Smile! AKA Schizodrift Jam 1 AKA Bikini Intro" — 0:49
9. "Bikini" — 2:29
10. "Talk" — 3:30
11. "Animal" — 3:18

• View the release history at Discogs