Caroline Spence Navigates the Nuanced Emotional Terrain of Adulthood on New Album 'True North'

Self-reflection can be uncomfortable, but the insight and clarity that comes from it can spark tremendous creativity. Though singer-songwriter Caroline Spence typically spends much of her time on the road - a lifestyle that doesn't allow for much self-reflection - the lockdown provided her with an unexpected gift of time that ultimately enabled her to create the 12 new songs that make up her latest album, True North, released on April 29.

Listen to the lead track "Clean Getaway," the first single from the album, HERE.

Spence observes, "This song is meant to be a cathartic, windows-down, feel-good and feel-bad anthem to sing at the top of your lungs as a way to honor yourself while owning your flaws --- it's for those folks that are still working through their baggage and might need a little help celebrating who they are in the meantime."

She continues, "This song absolutely came out of the lockdown in 2020, a time when none of us had the luxury of being able to hide from ourselves. I think I thought that time off the road would make me a different person in a certain way, but things didn't get easier with more time, they just got pulled more into focus because you are all that is left when everything else falls away."

The accompanying video captures the feelings of jubilation and freedom that come from hard-won wisdom and self-acceptance. View the video for "Clean Getaway" HERE.

She explains, "In the video, we wanted to show the light-hearted part of my experience with my Saturn Return - entering a new phase of adulthood where you can actually make space for your inner child instead of running from them. We used home movies of me as a kid to show this." Reconnecting with videos of her childhood proved to be a revelatory experience. "I got to see that my interests and personality really haven't changed much at all. I think I thought I'd be different by the time I hit 30 and the Saturn Return ended, but it left me exactly where I started, with just with more acceptance of who I am deep down."

The follow-up to 2019's critically acclaimed Mint Condition-hailed by Rolling Stone as a "gorgeous reflection on finding peace amid upheaval"-True North took shape from a deeply collaborative process between Spence and producer Jordan Lehning (Rodney Crowell, Andrew Combs). The album features 12 brand new songs written or co-written by Spence that explore the full spectrum of the human experience: love, growth, grief, and the endless complexities of human nature.

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