‘True North’ is singer-songwriter Caroline Spence’s fourth album, and it’s her second on a label, Rounder Records. Her previous effort with the label, 2019’s ‘Mint Condition’, delivered on her established strengths a strong, literary writer, while allowing her to create with a broader palette. She continues to expand that palette with ‘True North’; while it still fits within the Americana umbrella, it expands to encompass a broader range of influences, including Aimee Mann and Oasis, what the artist refers to as the “teenage mixtape all-stars.”
The influence of Mann, in particular, seems to loom over this album. While her own work can’t really be considered Americana, many of the female singer-songwriters influenced by her (Kathleen Edwards, Jenny Lewis, and Lilly Hiatt) can be. What Spence is doing is more aspirational than derivative. She’s not trying to imitate Mann, either sonically or lyrically, so much as she’s trying to live up to the qualities she’s embodied in her music. I wouldn’t say that ‘True North’ sounds a lot like Aimee Mann – who has a distinctive sonic signature – but it definitely is like her in that has a distinctive sonic signature. Neither one of them overpowers you with, but when you finish listening to this album, you realize that it’s held together, from the softer part to the rockier parts.
While there’s a new sonic direction here, it’s married to Spence’s existing strengths as writer. She’s explicitly literary, opening the album with a tribute to the late poet, ‘Mary Oliver’. The poet bookends the album, with the last track, ‘There’s Always Room’, reference her ‘The Summer’s Day’, as well as Pema Chödrön’s ‘When Things Fall Apart’. ‘I Forget the Rest’ is a nod to Walt Whitman’s ‘Once I Pass’d Through a Populous City’, while ‘Icarus’ riffs on the ancient Greek myth of the boy with wax wings who flew too close to the sun.
There is a lot of literary material on this album–and that’s not surprising, given how Spence had a lot of time to read, being forced off the road by the Covid pandemic–but there’s more to this record than just that. It also has some very deep, very piercing personal songs that really show bravery on her part as a songwriter and a performer. ‘Clean Getaway’ deals with self acceptance; ‘Scale These Walls’ is about vulnerability. The title cut, inspired by a group text shared with other songwriters during lockdown, looks at staying true to yourself.
Spence has been a star on the rise in the Americana field, gaining increasing recognition, especially for the sharpness of her writing. With ‘True North’, the Charlottesville native is looking to broader vistas, and while she isn’t entirely leaving Americana behind, she’s widening the scope of her music beyond it. She’s leaning into an eclectic range of influences without losing her unique identity as an artist, and the result is her best album yet. The writing is as good as any of her previous work, and the arrangements and production on ‘True North’ suit Caroline Spence’s songs better than on any of her earlier albums.
Tracklist: 1. Mary Oliver 2. The Gift 3. Clean Getaway 4. Blue Sky Rain 5. Scale These Walls 6. Walk the Walk 7. I Know You Know Me 8. Icarus 9. True North 10. The Next Good Time 11. I Forget the Rest 12. There’s Always Room Record label: Rounder Records Release date: 29th April 2022 Buy ‘True North’ now
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