Caroline Rose performing in the Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, NC, 2015, by Colakovicsrdjan CC SA-4.0
…the Slug Life chose Caroline Rose. Through their, sluggish persona, today’s Caroline Rose understands what folk music is. In an unexpected move, the genre-bending artist leaked their newest album last month several days before release. This, alongside a series of tour dates in “independent, intimate venues” and a release strategy that avoids traditional streaming, Rose hopes to put their music in the hands of fans first.
Beginning their career with a series of twangy Americana albums, eventually pivoting towards a surfy pop-rock sound towards the end of the 2010s, it came as a surprise when they released 2023’s The Art of Forgetting, a contemplative folk-rock album which combined aching strings with theatrical production. Now, a lengthy international tour and a short film release later, Rose has decided to scale things down in their Year of the Slug.
Continuing in the more acoustic vein of the last album with a far less expansive production, the album they originally “weren’t gonna put out” creates an intimate experience with the listener by combining simple atmosphere with Rose’s characteristically perceptive lyricism. The album centering little more than the singer, their guitar, and whatever background noise can be heard in the recording lets listeners into a sincere listening experience.

Several days before the album’s release on February 7, the artist leaked the album to those on their mailing list. The album’s release as a whole was unconventional, as they hoped to avoid commercial streaming altogether by releasing Year of the Slug on only Bandcamp. As mainstream streaming services have remained controversial for years due to how artists are paid for their work, Rose hopes that a Bandcamp and physical media strategy can allow listeners to have more ownership over the music they’re hearing, and allow for more fair compensation in the process.
Rose recently set out on tour to promote the album with no band and a list of “independent, intimate venues” to perform at. By performing in spaces like these, avoiding “service fees” in the ticket model, and centering the relationship between fan and artist in these venues, Rose hopes to set themself outside of the touring mainstream and create an experience where the people in the venue are most supported. As they stated in an Instagram post from January, the tour is “an experiment to see what happens when [they] skirt around [a] system that does not serve me or the people buying tickets to my shows. not to mention, it’s simply more fun for me.”
Caroline Rose’s approach to releasing music is radical. They have shown their willingness to put the listener-artist relationship first and have turned away from widespread commercialism in music. While many artists pick up guitars and play folk music, Rose’s approach embodies the intimate, independent spirit that has defined the genre.
— slacker