The perfect storm that led to Caroline Rose's 'The Art of Forgetting'

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

Singer-songwriter Caroline Rose has several albums and styles under their belt. They released the witty, funny indie pop album "Loner," "Superstar," the stylized digital pop concept album about fame, and now Caroline Rose is getting personal.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "EVERYWHERE I GO I BRING THE RAIN")

CAROLINE ROSE: (Singing) I just want to be there for someone completely - a foundation, four walls and a ceiling.

RASCOE: "The Art Of Forgetting" is Caroline Rose's latest album. It's an emotional, candid collection made during a difficult time in their life. Caroline Rose, thank you so much for being here.

ROSE: Yeah, thanks for having me.

RASCOE: Can you talk about the time in your life that this album blossomed from?

ROSE: Yeah, I think the more I talk about it, the easier it gets. It was just a - like, a perfect storm of events that led to just feeling - I don't want to say desperate, but maybe, like, emotionally desperate in a way. This was kind of the beginning of the pandemic. And at the same time, I was going through a split with my partner, and I realized I had left very little for myself. And I had kind of forgotten how to be kind to myself.

RASCOE: I want to talk a little bit about the album's title. It's called "The Art Of Forgetting." We first hear the phrase in your song "Miami."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIAMI")

ROSE: (Singing) This is the hard part, the part that they don't tell you about. There is the art of loving. This is the art of forgetting how.

RASCOE: I mean, forgetting can be a lot of things. Like, it could be forgetting who you are, forgetting this relationship, forgetting the pain. What did you mean by that title, "The Art Of Forgetting"?

ROSE: That was one of the earlier songs that I wrote when I was kind of filled with resentment, and it had a sort of negative connotation to it. There was more fear of myself being forgotten. And then, you know, as time passes, it started to feel more like to be able to forget things was, like, a healthy process of letting go, to be able to hold something, you know, in the palm of your hand, and then when it's time to let it go, you move on.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIAMI")

ROSE: (Singing) You've got to get through this life somehow. You've got to get through this life somehow.

RASCOE: You used a lot of devices and media that have the characteristics of fading or made you feel like you were forgetting. Can you talk about that?

ROSE: Yeah, well, I was just gravitating towards instruments that have a sort of humanlike quality, that decay - wooden instruments, something that has a bit more of a life connection to it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BETTER THAN GOLD")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Caroline, I just wanted to say hi and just hear your voice. I love you so much, and I think about you every day, and I hope everything's going good with you.

RASCOE: One thing that is throughout the album is you have these voicemails from your grandma. It seems like she represents a bit of hope. I'm wondering if you ever got to share these songs with her.

ROSE: You know, I actually did get to share the songs with her, and it was actually maybe a few days before she passed away. So they hit a little harder now. It's just, like, these little memories that are historicized.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BETTER THAN GOLD")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: OK, anything you do is good for me. You are the best one.

ROSE: We spoke every day this whole time I was writing this album because a lot of sources of comfort in my life had kind of just gone completely out the window. And I felt like those were really grounding moments. It makes it seem on the album like I never spoke to her, but we actually (laughter) spoke all the time.

RASCOE: (Laughter).

ROSE: I just had all these voicemails from her over the years.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "BETTER THAN GOLD")

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: ...Talk to you, honey. You give me a call if you have a chance. I love you. Bye.

RASCOE: This was a very hard time for you. But now that you're coming out of it, what do you want the audience to take away from this?

ROSE: I was so focused on this album being just the album that I wanted to make, and when it was done, it felt like it was for me. And I don't know if I've ever even done that before. And everyone has been sharing really beautiful feedback of just about how they relate to the story and how they relate to the music and how it moves them. And I just - I couldn't ask for anything more because that's the dream. That's the point of why we do this is try and express ourselves, put it out there and hope that people are moved by it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT")

ROSE: (Singing) Life goes on. I just got to take a beat, get some fresh air in my lungs. I just got to do my thing and shake it off.

RASCOE: That's songwriter and producer Caroline Rose. Their new album, "The Art Of Forgetting," is out now. Caroline, thank you so much.

ROSE: Thank you. I appreciate it.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT")

ROSE: (Singing) If only it were that easy - a flick of the wrist, a turn of the page - to let you go. My God, you make such a hot brick wall. So instead I'm beating my head...

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