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Caitlin Rose, ‘Own Side Now’ (Theory 8)

Caitlin Rose doesn’t just sing, she juggles. On her first full-length album, Rose’s dusky drawl somehow sounds deadpan, mournful, and angry all at once — like a pissed-off Emmylou or a mellow Lucinda, if you can imagine such a thing. But it’s a combination whose time has come. The spare Americana arrangements are subdued throughout, the better to hear memorable declarations like the “Spare Me” chorus: “Love is just one more useless thing you don’t need, but you can’t throw away.” She doesn’t really believe that deep down, of course, but she makes you feel it.