Already an industry veteran at 20, Rosie Carney writes songs that feel lived-in and worn, conveying a bruised ache well beyond her years. The Irish singer-songwriter has been letting singles trickle out for a few years now, and her latest, "Your Moon," strikes a sure-footed balance between airy tenderness and coolly jazzy melancholy.
Carney signed and lost a record deal while still a teenager, yet each successive song finds her reaching more of her considerable potential. This year, she's begun opening up about her battles with mental illness, writing candidly and thoughtfully about her experiences on her website, so it makes sense that her newest songs capture the weary grace of a survivor who's located the source of her strength.
"'Your Moon' is a song written about realizing different truths within yourself or within a relationship, and finding meaning in that truth," Carney writes via email. "I wanted to capture the feeling of realizing that [just because] the circumstances and timing may seem right in things, doesn't necessarily mean that it is what's truly best for you. We spend a lot of time doing things for other people in life, focusing on what's best for someone else, and trying to please people. But sometimes we have to realize what's truly best for ourselves and what would be more beneficial in the bigger picture. It's about being selfish in the best possible way, and not being afraid to put yourself first."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.