The pleasing Americana music and nimble, emotive vocals of Caroline Rose's "America Religious" - the title track from her debut album - mask massive amounts of meaning. Perhaps more accurately, they mask a lot of words whose meaning you're left to decipher for yourself.
Take this line, which Rose said she's frequently asked about: "America religious, I eat slices of white privilege processed by agri-business."
"What I want people to get out of that line and the song in general is discussion about what race relations are like, and what things like immigration reform mean today, and agribusiness," she said in a recent phone interview promoting her July 30 performance at the River Music Experience.
That didn't clear things up much, did it?
"I don't really care what people think that it means," she said. "As long as they're talking about it, I think it's great."
Based on America Religious, Rose certainly bears discussion. The music is varied, compelling, and sharp in its genre, with "Here Come the Rain" a standout in texture, arrangement, and vocal performance.
But the lyrics are what leap out.
He's performed alongside such talents as Wynton Marsalis and Mel Tormé, and worked as personal assistant to jazz great Dick Hyman. He's toured nationally and internationally, landing everywhere from Paris' Bilboquet Jazz Club to Los Angeles' Playboy Mansion. He's been featured on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, and the soundtracks for The Aviator, Ghost World, and Boardwalk Empire.
