Fresh from the mailbag — and this one doesn’t slow down for a second.

Caroline Rose has never been an artist who sits still, but this chapter is theirs outright. The Long Island singer-songwriter releases Gentling the Horse at the Walt Whitman Mall this Friday on SUCK records, their own label, after a run of acclaimed records for New West — and they’re doing it the hard way, on the road, wrapping up a support run with Modest Mouse this week (Phoenix got the show Monday night). Produced by John Congleton, the album is Rose’s attempt to make a record that thrashes. “Valery (please don’t be mad at me),” its final preview, is the proof.

Here’s the trick the song pulls: it’s a eulogy disguised as a joyride. Valery is a composite — Rose’s hometown best friend, lost to a heroin overdose, fused with another beloved friend addiction put through the wringer. “We both look different but our love remains the same,” Rose sings, and instead of slowing down to mourn, the song floors it: bright, propulsive power-pop, a crooner melody over distorted guitars, call-and-response vocals that keep handing the feeling around the room.

What elevates it is control. Three minutes and ten seconds, no wasted motion — the grief never disappears, it just gets carried at speed, until the whole thing cracks open into gloriously erratic screaming near the end. That’s the sound of someone choosing to remember loudly.

Wednesday is the hardest day of the week to feel something on purpose. This is the song that does it anyway. Play it loud, then play it again.

Rating: 4.5/5

LISTEN:

• YouTube (official live video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzOAlGJ-J2A
• YouTube (studio version): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cxOwtzcB8o
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/1VMiLAkR3Uimi7bf6Lord3