Caroline, Indiana would like a word with you.
If you weren’t already formally acquainted, Indiana is a singer-songwriter from the UK. “Indiana the girl. Not the state,” as she’s made it clear on her various social channels. That SEO can be a real pain in the ass, you know — hope this helps.
Two years ago, after releasing a string of singles and signing with Sony, Indiana went Top 20 in the UK with her song “Solo Dancing,” which I took a liking to at the time, calling it a “dark disco throbber.” (I stand by it.) She one-upped herself with a follow-up, the gorgeous “Heart on Fire,” which has a chorus that all the best retro synth-pop dreams are made of.
All of that went into No Romeo, Indiana’s debut LP, which came in at the top of 2015. It’s an impressive set of dark, cinematic, smartly crafted electronic pop — but never mind, because the new new is coming real soon.
Indiana’s been teasing photos and lyrics for weeks now regarding something. As it turns out, that was all to tide us over with something free while we wait.
“I was picking tracks for album two and there were just too many to choose from, so instead of just throwing this one away I’ve made a video for it… something for you to get your teeth into whilst I continue to work on the second record x,” Indiana wrote on her Facebook, thereby unleashing “Caroline” to the world.
From the sound of things, she’s got something fantastic brewing on Album 2 if this is really just a discard.
“Caroline” is an emotional warning from afar, as the singer advises a woman (Caroline!) to tone it down. Why? Because she’s being played. It sounds like Caroline’s trying a bit too hard to fill an emotional void — one that can only properly be nourished with Netflix, Seamless, yoga, inspirational Instagram memes and several therapy sessions.
“I bet you you’re better than this,” she cautions. “Caroline, they only want your body for the night. Caroline, don’t let them take you for a ride.”
Musically, it’s very much within the Drive soundtrack ’80s noir-nostalgia realm — something she’s cited as an inspiration in past interviews.
“Hard to be breaking hearts when you’re no valentine / You’re never in his arms, you’re only on your side…”
And this video, which she’s also just chucking out there for free? Fantastic! And not just ’cause Indiana looks gorgeous. (And so does that amazing car.)
There’s a certain Lana Del Rey-ish quality to the scenes shared between our protagonist and her heavily tatted hook-up, which become increasingly uncomfortable to watch as they unfold. But whereas Lana’s more than happy to submit to her bad baby, Ultraviolence style, Caroline seems to be seriously second-guessing her life choices.
It’s nice to know we can count on Indiana to tell is like it is when we’re making less-than-smart decisions — in the form of big, haunting hooks and dreamy synths, no less.
