SFSH: Caroline Rose + La Force
Doors 9:30pm | Show starts 10pm
Caroline Rose - Effortlessly shapeshifting across all of their releases, Caroline Rose’s albums blend psychobilly, pop, shoegaze, alt-country, folk, electronic, and experimental music. They infuse satire, perspective-shifting, film-inspired narratives, and an array of storytelling devices that transport listeners straight into Rose’s self-described “weird buffet” of a mind. With each album—from the alt-country folk of I Will Not Be Afraid, to the psychobilly of LONER, and 2020’s brilliant self-produced synthpop album Superstar—Rose crafts a unique, irresistible, and multifaceted character that draws the listener into their world.
2023’s moody and exploratory release, The Art of Forgetting, was nominated for a Grammy (Best Recording Package, art directed by Caroline Rose). Rose continues to bring their live show across North America, Europe, and the UK through a mix of solo performances in exclusively independent venues, raucous full-band productions, and even orchestral shows with the likes of the London Contemporary Orchestra and Metropolis Ensemble.
On year of the slug, released exclusively on Bandcamp on February 7, 2025, there is no pretense—no bells, whistles, or heavy production. “Sometimes it’s nice to have a pearl before it’s polished,” Rose says. Recorded in GarageBand from a phone, slug offers quality songs in their rawest form—delivered straight to the listener with no middleman. It will not be available on streaming platforms.
La Force - XO SKELETON is the supple, steady new album by La Force (Ariel Engle), blending haunted pop and hot-blooded R&B into songs that explore life, death, and love. Born from grief, memory, and reflection during the pandemic, the album was co-produced at home with longtime collaborator Warren Spicer. Its themes emerged organically—sparked by a surreal call with a life-insurance broker—and were shaped in the house where Engle grew up, married, and lost her father.
Engle’s stunning voice and physical, tender songwriting shine throughout. Tracks like “condition of us” and “how do you love a man” ask how we love amid absence and uncertainty. Written in part through an artist circle led by Phil Weinrobe (with peers like Beck, Feist, and Maggie Rogers), XO SKELETON is a luminous reckoning with mortality and memory—aching, sensual, and alive. It’s music that pulses with scars and beauty, like a body, or the memory of one.