Popular for her hit, Backyard Boy, and her signature catchy melody with fresh vocals, Claire Rosinkranz has grown tremendously from her first release, Best Friend. And now, she is on her way to release her first official studio album.
On Mar. 10, Rosinkranz released Never Goes Away, a song that reflects her past music styles — a fresh sound with verses that sound almost like dialogue. I love how Rosinkranz utilizes her lyrics to create a fun atmosphere for her listeners. Throughout the song, a background bass line plays a repeating melody. The lyrics take the listener through a story, and Claire Rosinkranz sings about how words can’t be taken back and ultimately “never ever really goes away.”
Four months later, she released Screw Time, singing about a bittersweet topic: growing up. Intermixed with Claire Rosinkranz’s familiar catchy backing track is the melody, with phrases like “wish I could time travel,” and “stop turning all of my nights into memories,” highlighting how growing up may feel hectic. Throughout the song, Rosinkranz sings about how her “watch keeps wanting to screw [her]” and wanting things to never end in an upbeat adventure of rhythm. I personally thought the overly repeating bridge, if changed, could have created a better listening experience.
Rosinkranz’s next release, Pools and Palm Trees, on Aug. 11, exhibits a slightly different take from her past songs. The song starts with an electric piano melody that repeats in the background of the song for its duration. As the chorus nears, the bass and drum fade out as the song slows, and the song then immediately picks up its original tempo. Rosinkranz describes her love interest as a beach trip, obvious in how she uses words like “sunburn,” “short flights, and “daydream.” She views the boy she likes as someone temporary, someone she links with pools and palm trees. The song ends almost abruptly, with a new melody introduced a few seconds before the song cuts out, perhaps similar to how the romantic relationship described ends quickly as well.
Rosinkranz’s most recent release on Sept. 8, Wes Anderson, stands out from the others. The song starts with muted singing, and a drum kick starts the song. The lyrics are almost like passing thoughts, similar to how the song has no clear meaning. Rosinkranz sings about being lonely, telling herself to “wake up” and “get over [her] breakup.” The song fades out as the notes almost slide out into silence. At first, the eccentric style of the song made me turn away from the song, but I found myself gradually listening more due to how fresh it was.
Although Rosinkranz’s releases show strong similarities with her past songs, she shows how much her music has grown. It’s easy to notice how she introduces more funky, very original and never-heard melodies that take time to get used to. For Pools and Palm Trees and Wes Anderson, it took longer for me to start liking the melodies and be able to appreciate the music. I usually don’t enjoy incorporation of editing that overly changes a singer’s voice, but the almost unnoticeable incorporation elevated the songs. I find myself preferring these more original, new songs over Rosinkranz’s older songs, which tend to have simple melodies and almost predictable style. I’m looking forward to encountering even more original songs and having the ability to dive into Rosinkranz’s evolving music genre. The excitement of knowing there’s seven more tracks in the album shows how surprisingly content I am with her recent releases.
These odd melodies only enable Rosinkranz to stick out from other artists, proving how she is constantly bringing brand new ideas to the table. To Rosinkranz, her album stands as a curation of her navigation through life as a little movie, which is fitting for the simple, casual title she has given it — Just Because.
