Caroline says it all
Alabama native Caroline Sallee started recording under the name Caroline Says around 2014. Her first record—“50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong”—was a DIY gem, displaying her knack for songs that evoke despair, humor, and hope (think Roy Orbison meets Laetitia Sadier).
Since then, Caroline moved to Austin (then to New York, where she currently resides). Regardless of where she is geographically, she is unequivocally one of the most important musical voices to emerge from Alabama in the past ten years.
She released her third full length album—“The Lucky One”—last fall on Western Vinyl. If you haven’t heard it, click over to Bandcamp and give it a listen (and purchase). We sat down with Caroline to hear more about the record, her animated video for “Faded and Golden,” and what the future holds. (Featured image photo credit: Ebru Yildiz)
AM: Your new album features so many warm tones and intimate moments. In a way, it’s like the listener is getting to sit in the room while you play these songs for the first time. Can you talk a bit about your approach to writing and recording this album? Were you intentional about adding more acoustic guitar and warmer tones?
CS: First of all—thank you! I am honored to be interviewed. Chris McCauley [co-founder of AM] has always been my number 1 supporter and I love that dude.
I recorded this album so long ago now, I don’t really remember my approach! I can tell you that I got a really nice acoustic guitar and a really nice microphone, and I think that influenced me leaning into it being more acoustic. I’m guessing that, if it feels like the listener is sitting in the room, it’s simply because it was literally me alone in a room with a really nice microphone. I recorded it wherever I could find empty rooms, as I moved out of my apartment in Austin in 2020 after losing a job due to the pandemic. I recorded it in multiple friend’s spare rooms and empty houses in Texas and Alabama, and rented a barn in rural Illinois before I moved into my apartment in Brooklyn in 2021 and finished the record.
I’ve never worked on anything harder than I worked on this record. When I finished it, I felt like I never wanted to record an entire record by myself again. I’ve recorded every Caroline Says release by myself, but this was a particularly lonely recording process due to covid and the actual need to be alone because of covid. Very truthfully, I did not have fun making this record, but I’m grateful for the purpose it gave me during such a weird time.
“I’ve never worked on anything harder than I worked on this record.”
Because this is a bummer of an answer so far, I’ll try to figure out how to make it less of a bummer … I’ll talk about some weird exercises I tried while writing these songs: I went into each song wanting to represent a feeling and a scene, almost like a movie. I would describe the setting of the song, the characters, the weather, and write all that stuff down, almost like painting a picture of the song. To write lyrics, I’d set a timer for like 20 minutes, and free-write. Most of what I’d write down was garbage, but I’d get a few gems and highlight them. I felt like this was a cool way to kickstart things.
AM: What’s the transition from Austin to New York been like?
CS: I am glad to have experienced Austin before it felt like a big mall. I think I experienced the tail end of “old Austin.” When I moved there in 2013, you could go eat dinner, see a great show, and drink all night all for like $33. I have some very good memories there, and I think it was a cool place to spend my 20s. But the whole time I lived there, I wanted to be in New York, so I’m glad I made the move. I guess I just wanted to live in a city that’s even more ridiculously expensive and hard to live in! Sometimes I think “What the hell am I doing here?” because it is so hard to live here, but I think if I lived anywhere else, I’d just wish I was here. I miss my friends who still live in Austin, and I think the food is generally better in Austin (of course there’s plenty of good food in New York but there’s A LOT of bad food too), but I’m glad to be in New York. I love New York, and I’m thinking about putting that on a t-shirt and selling it.
AM: You made a stellar animated video for “Faded and Golden.” Can you talk about the story the video tells?
CS: I made the video very stream-of-consciously with no real story in mind while I was making it, but I think the story is about two old friends who’ve grown apart remembering each other. I really just wanted to prove to myself that I could make a fully hand-drawn animation, and worked on it for about 2 months and felt like a crazy person doing it. But, I did it!
AM: What’s on the horizon for you in 2025?
CS: Other than making some t-shirts that say “I [heart] NY” and trying to sell them, I am not sure! Maybe I’ll record an album by myself again.
