Superstar

The album is heart-warmingly straightforward and honest in its lyricism with no attempt at being unnecessarily complex for the sake of it; smartly made with a finite tale to tell.

Rose shines a disco light on shame, lets panic leap into a bouncing gait that's faked-till-it's-made. And though she masterfully wields the absurdity of hubris, she also doesn't ridicule what she finds. She asks the misfits of the human psyche what they want and what scares them, and gives them a whole floor to do their dance. They laugh together, let loose and sweat off their blush.

Superstar proves itself a tightly knit satire of celebrity, effective thanks to Rose’s sharp storytelling and her calculated use of distortion, which highlights the artificial quality of the protagonist’s new surroundings. ... Among these key storytelling points are some of Rose’s most brilliant moments yet as an indie-pop artist, a dizzying kaleidoscope of her own vocal talent and colorful artistic choices.

It's a record of quiet confidence, its brightness dialled down but its impact still fierce. [Jun 2020, p.100]

Her follow up trades on this growing profile by creating an ambitious album that is one part a swaggering come-up story and one part reflective vulnerability. Rose marries these elements with her magnetic style, and the result is unmistakably her own. On Superstar, Caroline Rose is playing by her own rules, and it is a delight to see it.

An audaciously original album - a bedroom-laptop fever dream from a parallel universe. [Apr 2020, p.33]

Rose's creation reveals our collective unconsciousness as fans who shape the biographies of our entertainment heroes.

All together, a mischievous lyricist captures the new West.

here’s nothing wrong with hearing these well-written songs, packed with sashaying grooves and wobbly synths, but by the mid-section of the record there is a definite sagging point, and the album doesn’t feel as effortless to listen to as Loner did. Even so, this is as enjoyable to listen to as its former, it’s just a shame that it doesn’t progress Caroline all that much as an artist.

Superstar doesn’t quite hit the heights of its predecessor – at times, it feels like the whole concept of the album’s theme is getting in the way of creating a fully flowing album. When it works though, there’s enough evidence that Rose is still very much a superstar herself.

Rose's ace narrative writing occasionally takes a back seat to her neon keyboards and dance beats, but when she stumbles upon a fine groove, it's irresistible. [Mar 2020, p.91]

Personal-feeling moments are the album’s strongest, and Superstar could use more of them. By clinging to the never-ending blank page of the bit, Rose winds up in shallower waters.