Album Review: Caroline Rose - ‘Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall’

One of our faves on the scene in alt makes their triumphant return this week! Caroline Rose shares their latest, Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall on Friday! The album starts hard and fast with the singles “Yip Yip Yow” and “Chow Mein”. “Yip Yip Yow” leads the way by kicking the door in with overdriven guitars that evoke comps to more headlined punk tracks. “Chow Mein” is much more alt/indie inspired with a beat that simply bops.

I really loved “Valery (please don’t be mad at me)” Rose’s vocals soar here over some carefully placed distorted guitars. I also adored the call and response vocalization that Rose and co. went with on this one. Rose goes back to more rock and punk inspired melodies on “Goddamn Train”. I love their use of verses here, as they fly through a myriad of lyrics on the track and it features a pretty cool solo beat the end of the track around the 1:40 mark. The whole thing lasts just shy of two minutes, which is amazing for what all Rose and co. are able to accomplish on this one. The cadence of Rose’s vocalizations remind me of R.E.M.’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know It”.

I throughly enjoyed “Notes to Teenage Self”, which came in halfway through the record. It’s an acoustic number and Rose’s vocals once again as she sings in a hushed tone or sorts. There’s part near the end of the track where Rose dubs vocals over one another almost like they are singing in a round. It was a great way to end my favorite track on the record (so far). Rose lands the plane with the aptly titled “Everything in It’s Right Place”, which features a bit of fuzzy guitar along with Rose’s vocals accompanied by some pretty cool backing vocals that once again sound almost as if they are singing in a round.

Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall is another winner from Rose who had a history of making great choices. Additionally, the record marks the debut of Rose’s own SUCK Records imprint. With such a quick follow-up to Rose’s 2025 record, year of the slug, (which was incredibly recorded on an iPhone), I wasn’t sure what to expect. Rose simply delivered another one with an album that effortlessly blends punk, pop, and alt.

Rating - 9.5/10