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Caroline Smith: “If you gotta guy like mine then read the signs don’t lose your mind make the drive to Jefferson”” – Live at the Independent in SF (Dec 9, 2017)

Written by Erica Andreozzi


I had no idea that walking into the Independent early to check out the opener for Overcoats would have me walking out with a new favorite artist: Caroline Smith, a neo-soul, R&B singer with indie-folk roots who formerly released two albums with her band Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps before putting out a solo debut album back in 2013 called ‘Half About Being a Woman.‘

What hooked me right away with Caroline, beside her stunning vocals, was her radical candor and sassy songwriting, eminent in the first new track she played (video below) which unfortunately  I did not catch the name of:

“I will not pretend, I will not put on a smile, I will say I’m alright for you, when all I wanted was to be good, to do everything in truth…
You bloody mother fucking asshole
You bloody mother fucking asshole
You bloody mother fucking asshole
You bloody mother fucking asshole”

I thoroughly enjoyed this super-cathartic, super-sassy “ode to asshole” and could not stop smiling at the thought of this petite, innocent-looking lil’ lady shocking an ex-lover with her spunky, sassafras anthems. I couldn’t get enough of her spitfire lyrics and was super excited when she continued to breathe fire with a track called ‘Jefferson‘ (video below) — one that definitely puts fire under the ass!

“Chewing on some gum walking home and feeling dumb for giving into him another night
God damn it’s the way he stays just far enough away to waste my time   
I coulda told you I was only setting up the deck against myself, again.
If you gotta guy like mine then read the signs don’t lose your mind make the drive to Jefferson”

Such a sassy, witty, FEEL GOOD JAM that I could listen to OVER AND OVER. Sooooo good.

Caroline then treated us to a few new tracks (videos below),  ‘Animal‘ (“You’re an animal, you’re an animal, you’re an animal I’m the CRIMINAL… cause I’m one too”) and ‘Bad habit‘ (“I gotta bad habit of living rich on minimum wage .. I gotta bad habit for loving you… is the worst one.. the worst one”), both of which I can’t wait to be released.

Right after, she delivered a two more well-known tracks (videos below) —  ‘Trying Not to Love You‘ and ‘Half about Being a Woman‘ — both of which capture the innate, often conflicting desire to finding love in another without losing love in yourself: “I’m gonna go, walk out that door Cause being a woman, is half about being wrong but the other half led me to be singing this song.”  Every one of Caroline’s tracks unlocks another truth about femininity and societal expectations placed on women, and the video for her song ‘Magazine,’ created by director/editor Dan Huiting (Bon Iver, The National, Local Natives, Andrew Bird) depicts this quite beautifully. She is all about female empowerment and encouraging women to embrace their bold, outspoken opinions/voice and to proud of their roots:
“Over the last year I began to embrace that being a strong, confident, opinionated woman is something to be proud of, not subdued. I have to embrace where my roots are and stay true to who I am… I wanted to make music to celebrate that and to encourage other women to do the same.” Check out the PBS documentary, My Way Back Home, for the full scoop on Caroline’s transition to ‘Half About Being a Woman.‘  ❤
Check out her track ‘Bloodstyle‘ — also so freaking good!
Tagline: MISTER SISTER // MINNEAPOLIS OUTLAW // WOMAN IN THE INDUSTRY

 

 

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One thought on “Caroline Smith: “If you gotta guy like mine then read the signs don’t lose your mind make the drive to Jefferson”” – Live at the Independent in SF (Dec 9, 2017)”

  1. Make it out Alive (Playlist: Jan 15, 2018) | beatsthatsetmypulse says:
    January 16, 2018 at 12:12 am

    […] on the link): Angus & Julia Stone, City of the Sun, Overcoats, Nick Mulvey, Jaws of Love., Caroline Smith, Tune-Yards, Ben Sollee, Emily Scott Robinson, Luke Sital-Singh) and new releases by Geographer, […]

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