Nashville musician Caroline Carter turns childhood etiquette classes into noisy empathy on ‘Fetch’

Nashville musician Caroline Carter has come a long way from a West Texas upbringing focused on Southern hospitality. Her new EP, “Fetch,” grapples with finding her own identity while being a people pleaser.

Growing up, she was taught to be polite.

She and her twin sister Casey were enrolled in etiquette classes by their parents. They were told to serve others, and to do it quietly, responding with a demure “yes ma’am” or “no sir.”

“That kind of ties into people-pleasing tendencies, which made itself present in any relationship that I’ve ever had that I’m trying to break out of,” she says

Carter says the sisters chose opposite paths when they left home after high school. Her sister took more of a traditional route, going to Baylor University and rushing a sorority.

Caroline headed out of state to follow her muse. She landed in Nashville to study music at Belmont. But she got her real education through an internship at the radio station Lightning 100. “That was kind of the first moment where I felt like I was finding my footing here.  I also knew it would be a really good excuse for me to, like, get exposed to a lot of new music and use that for my artistry as well,” she says.

Early on, Carter was making soft acoustic singer/songwriter songs, but she started feeling drawn to messier textures when she was assigned coverage of an indie rock band.

“I remember I had to write an article for a Momma song. It was the cover they did of a song called “Sunday.” And so I just listened to it front to back, and it was insane, and I was like, ‘Okay, I think I wanna go in that kind of direction.’ It was a turning point for sure,” she said.

Carter started writing songs with a different feel for what would become her “Fetch” EP. She recorded it with Nashville producer Indiana Pickle Farm, who’s solo work includes massive guitars. Carter had a specific template in mind: pairing big emotions with loud, distorted guitars the way her favorite female indie rockers do.

“I find it really enticing when there’s the juxtaposition of a softer voice and loud, gritty, gritty production and guitar,” she said.

Fetch – EP by Caroline Carter

That thought guides the direction on the EP. The cover shows a dog reaching for a tennis ball that is held just out of reach. It’s a metaphor she first clocked on fellow Nashville indie musician, Soccer Mommy’s song, “Your Dog,” which reminded Carter of her own tendencies.

“ I find it very smart and also vulnerable when someone uses a metaphor like that to be like, ‘I feel like something so helpless for you,’ almost like your pet. And it strips away your identity to think of yourself like that. Feeling so attached to somebody else, like, your worth is tied to them. It does feel like a dog on a leash.”

But where Soccer Mommy’s song resists the feeling of being on a leash, Carter’s song “Watchdog” expresses empathy for the dog.

“Those guitars are meant to be written as, like, here’s how it feels going on in my brain, but what’s actually coming out is something much softer and dialed back as to not freak somebody out.”

That’s just good manners. But Carter doesn’t feel the need to come off as a “proper” lady. She’s actually held onto the deeper lesson of those classes: conveying genuine kindness. And she’s found a way of weaving that into her music in a way that shows just how loud and messy that can be.

“Fetch” is etiquette as empathy.

“My mom would be very proud of me for saying this, but I think all of that stuff, as ridiculous as it seemed to be doing at the moment, really, really set me up to be who I am now. Because I love people, and I love bringing that Southern hospitality,” she said. “I would hope that I bring a little bit of that light into Nashville here.”