Cazimi - Misplaced Pages

Cazimi is an album by American country musician Caitlin Rose, released by Missing Piece and Names on November 18, 2022. The album is Rose's first in almost a decade and has received positive reviews.

Recording and release

Cazimi is Rose's first album in almost a decade, begun at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and produced for over two years. Previous recording sessions were unfruitful and Rose entered a creative period where she considered quitting music altogether. The release was formally announced in August 2022, with a preview of the track "Black Obsidian", and Rose had previously introduced a music video for "Only Lies" in December 2021. Rose had taken an extended hiatus from performing after losing the joy of it, but she continued writing songs. "Getting It Right" was written around 2014 and "Nobody's Sweetheart" was written in 2016. When she isn't having fun with music, she characterizes her work as "garbage", so she waited until she had the creative spark and an arrangement of musician friends who could finalize the album. The music on Cazimi draws from all of Rose's varied musical interests and influences and she co-produced the album with Jordan Lehning to have a pop quality.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	79⁄100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
American Songwriter
The Line of Best Fit	7⁄10
Paste	7.3⁄10
Pitchfork	7.5⁄10
PopMatters	7⁄10

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Cazimi received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 79 out of 100 from nine critic scores. Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Mark Deming claimed that "it plays to strengths with an ideal balance of solid craft and relatable humanity." For Pitchfork, Brad Shoup gave Cazimi a 7.5 out of 10, citing Rose's growth as a songwriter, who can pull from various genres to create a complete song cycle. In Paste, Ellen Johnson scored this release a 7.3 out of 10, noting Rose's "shimmery new sound" and ability to weave multiple genres into country-based music. John Amen of The Line of Best Fit praised the maturity of Rose's lyrics and her ability to offer "a down-to-earth yet reassuring message, expressing faith in our collective resilience"; he rated Cazimi seven out of 10. Hal Horowitz of American Songwriter gave this album three out of five stars, also pointing out the depth of Rose's storytelling, but noting that "songs often don't feel organic or warm which, with lyrics that are self-reflective, makes some selections seem stiff, pushed too close for the radio play they are reaching for". Steve Horowitz in PopMatters calls this collection "sort of a sonic impressionist painting" where "the blurring is intentional and purposeful" and gave the release a seven out of 10. Stereogum named this "Album of the Week", with reviewer Chris Deville praising the songwriting, vocals, and additional musicians, declaring that "each song is a standalone marvel unto itself".

Track listing

"Carried Away" – 4:17
"Modern Dancing" – 3:38
"Getting It Right" – 2:50
"Nobody's Sweetheart" (Caitlin Rose and Daniel Tashian) – 3:45
"Lil' Vesta" – 3:08
"Black Obsidian" – 3:05
"How Far Away" – 4:12
"Blameless" – 3:39
"Gemini Moon" – 3:54
"Holdin'" – 3:07
"All Right (Baby's Got a Way)" – 3:09
"Only Lies" – 3:53

Personnel

Caitlin Rose – vocals, production
Courtney Marie Andrews – vocals on "Getting It Right"
John Baldwin – mastering
Ethan Ballinger – guitar
Eli Beaird – bass guitar
Dom Billett – drums, percussion
Joe Costa – engineering, mixing
Spencer Cullum – pedal steel guitar
Anthony Da Costa – guitar
Fetzer Design – design
Jeremy Fetzer – guitar
Ian Fitchuk – drums
Austin Hoke – cello
Chris Hundo – sleeve photography
William Johnson – cover photography
Brian Kotzur – drums, percussion
Jack Lawrence – bass guitar
Jordan Lehring – acoustic guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, piano, percussion, backing vocals, production
Ian Miller – piano
Zachary Reynolds – co-engineering
Jerry Roe – drums, percussion
Luke Schneider – pedal steel guitar, guitar
Sean Thompson – guitar
William Tyler – acoustic guitar

References

^ Kois, Dan (November 18, 2022). ""It Hadn't Been Fun in a Really Long Time"". Slate. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Horowitz, Hal (November 18, 2022). "Review: Caitlin Rose Returns with a Pop Sheen Reflecting on a Relationship Gone Wrong". American Songwriter. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
Barton, Laura (November 17, 2022). "'Don't worry, I'm not going to trauma dump': Caitlin Rose on leaving her dark days behind". The Guardian. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
Freeman, Jon (August 24, 2022). "Caitlin Rose Previews First Album in Nearly 10 Years With "Black Obsidian"". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
Therrien, Jonny (December 2, 2021). "Ten Years After a Breakout Album, Caitlin Rose Resurfaces with "Only Lies"". The Bluegrass Situation. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Hight, Jewly (November 22, 2022). "On Caitlin Rose's first album in 9 years, she's wistful, wiser and having fun again". NPR. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ "Cazimi by Caitlin Rose". Metacritic. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Deming, Mark (November 18, 2022). "Caitlin Rose - Cazimi Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
^ Amen, John (November 18, 2022). "Caitlin Rose ends her hiatus with CAZIMI's memorable set of reassuring messages". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Johnson, Ellen (November 16, 2022). "Americana Burns Bright on Caitlin Rose's CAZIMI". Paste. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Shoup, Brad (November 18, 2022). "Caitlin Rose: CAZIMI Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
^ Horowitz, Steve (November 18, 2022). "Americana's Caitlin Rose Tracks Life's Changes on Cazimi". PopMatters. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
Deville, Chris (November 15, 2022). "Caitlin Rose CAZIMI Review". Stereogum. Retrieved November 27, 2022.

External links

Cazimi at Discogs (list of releases)
Cazimi at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
Review from Spectrum Culture
Review from MusicOMH

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