“I just want to feel it all.”
“Fully alive and conscious,” Claire Rosinkranz invites listeners into a kaleidoscopic world of emotions in her debut album. Fierce and chaotic, the Gen Z rising artist explores “all these crazy emotions from beautiful fun, carefree, sad and heartbroken” in her debut album Just Because. At times, sweet coolness filled the eyes with an earful starlights. At times, mid-night lonesomeness catches a sense of downbeat sensibility. Though bouncing between the walls of indie pop, her coming-of-age soundtrack has the attitude of a teen spirit, sliding punk rock aesthetic into the bubbling genre.
“123” opens with fast-paced heartbreak melancholy; “Sad Hawaii” reimagines her signature sunshine-filled sounds but not without tears in the lyrics. “Never Goes Away” evokes haunting dreams under the night’s intrigue. “Dreamer” swirls in endless soundscapes before “Swinging at the Stars” pushes to a breathy climax with exhilarating rhythms and snappy lyrics.
“Screw Time” speeds up in time-traveling nostalgia. “It feels like I was just 17, wondering what’s next for me,” the now 19-year-old singer songwriter sings as she looks back at the road that led her to the present moment. Choreographed around a big topic such as time, “Screw Time” puts it raw on display. No big concept. No big feelings, just the amplification of endless moments. A thread of feeling tastes like a thousand. She speaks from experience about experience.
Since her 2020 breakout single, “Backyard Boy,” Just Because saw a maturity both sonically and lyrically. Saying “Backyard Boy” swings with a tongue in cheek, Just Because turns over the stone, rediscovering lived-through experiences. Three flavors tugged behind one feeling. She’s here to find them all. She’s not afraid of heartbreak and dark night, but through them, she rides on a groove.
Written by Katrina Yang
Press Q&A with Claire Rosinkranz
Q: What song of Just Because represents you and your personality the best?
Claire Rosinkranz: It would be a mix of “Swinging at the Stars” and “Banksy.” I feel like the feeling of “Banksy” represents a part of me very well. The topic not so much. It’s about me being lonely, so I don’t want to say that’s me all the time. “Swinging at the Stars” is at my core. It’s about wanting to experience the abundance of being alive. I love to feel a lot and experience a lot. I like to put myself in situations that may not be the best for me because I just want to feel it all. I think it’s so cool that we’re capable of feeling all these crazy emotions from beautiful fun, carefree, sad and heartbroken. Fully alive and conscious. I feel like “Swinging at the Stars” wraps all that up pretty decently, but “Banksy” hits like a deeper kind of mood.
Q (The Music Enthusiast): Is there a feeling you hope people have while listening?
Rosinkranz: I want people to feel a little bit of everything. I hope that it makes them feel very full — like a coming-of-age movie. I just hope it’s an experience.
Q (KDUP): What made you realize you wanted to enter the music world?
Rosinkranz: I basically grew up around music. Both of my parents were involved in it. My dad has been composing and producing since I was a little girl. He was also a first-chair violinist so I would listen to him. He also did TV shows and jingles. My first memory of writing a song was at 8 years old. From then I found my passion for writing, that’s my favorite part. I also did stuff for my dad, he would ask me to write for this or that. When I was 11, I had a moment where I was asking myself if I wanted to do music or dance. I heard this voice that wasn’t my own that said I was supposed to do music. Ever since then, I’ve been very determined to do music, one because it was a calling and second I love it. At 15 I was like I want to make an EP and I told my dad and was determined to get it done pretty quick and I did. I don’t know how to function without it. It’s my processing system like it is for most artists. It comes from my family but I also feel like I was born with this thing where I have to be creating. I went a week without creating and I was so depressed and anxious, and I went to the studio and I felt instantly better cause I was able to unload all this stuff.
Q: The album cover is so simple and artistic, Was there a specific plan behind it or was it candid?
Rosinkranz: Very much candid, it was after a show I’m not sure which one. Me and my friend Hunter, he was coming on the road with me for a little bit. We were outside with his film camera and we were like this is cool and shot some photos. I ended up really liking the photo. I was into cat hats at the time so I had to have it on the album. I don’t know if I was to choose the album cover now it would be different. It doesn’t really go with my stuff visually. I still think it represents me in a way but it’s definitely a bit different. The visuals for the album are more vibrant and saturated but also vintage filmy stuff and that was more simplistic. It’s also really cute and takes me back to that time of playing shows and taking pictures with my friends.
Q (Fever Dream Zine): What is something fresh that you bring into the indie pop genre?
Rosinkranz: I think it’s special and sometimes rare to find people who are that connected to the things that they write about. I love to feel everything and I hope that people can feel a little bit of everything while listening to my music.
Q (The Flip Side): What word or words would you describe your debut album?
Rosinkranz: Coming-of-age movie. It’s all over the place. It really carries you through all of the emotions that I was feeling through chaotic situations and times.
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