Photo courtesy of Justin Key

For Caroline Romano, the biggest goal of her debut album was to tell a story. She wanted a narrative from start to finish that serves as chapter one of her career.

Oddities and Prodigies has been a motto of hers for quite some time, as she believes you cannot have an oddity without a prodigy and vice versa.

“As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to realize that some of the things I found the weirdest about myself, the things I was mocked for as a kid, have become my greatest assets,” she said. “I’ve seen the misfits, the loners and the quiet ones become some of the loudest. Prodigies are weird people, but I think so many of them walk among us. It’s about seeing the oddities within ourselves and others and magnetic, wonderful, intangible things that will one day become great things. Oddities and prodigies go hand in hand.”

Over the last year, she noticed that the songs she was writing had a very clear theme. The more songs she wrote, the harder it became to choose which ones would make the final track listing. When she began putting it together, she found that all the songs fit as perfect as puzzle pieces.

Romano wanted to make sure that every song on Oddities and Prodigies left an impact. She wanted there to be a message in each song; a piece of comfort or a moment of collective understanding for anyone that listened. As the album progressed, she also wanted to make sure that listeners felt so very much of something. If a listener wants to scream or dance or cry or sing or love so very passionately, then that is all she could ever ask for from her music.

Convincing herself to release an LP was both rewarding and challenging. At times, it was hard for her to justify putting out 16 songs on one album. There wasn’t a guarantee that there would be an audience at the end of the process to listen to an independent artist.

“Overcoming those doubts was definitely the most rewarding aspect of it all because it brought the album to life,” she said. “It allowed me to express myself and simply be proud of the art I was making. It was a reminder that I write music because it’s my favorite thing in the world. You obviously hope people are listening and relating to your songs at the end of the day, but this album was something I needed to put out for myself, for my own story.”

Oddities and Prodigies is her story of youth and the impossible plans that come with being young. It is equal parts love and hate and all the feelings that come in between.

“I hope anyone listening to this album feels understood in some way, even if it's small,” Romano said. “I hope they feel a whole spectrum of ugly and pretty emotions. Most importantly, I hope they take away the idea that there is something so wonderful and so unique within them that the world can only wait to see the beautiful things they do. I hope they find both the oddity and prodigy within themselves, and that they feel excited about now, and the future, and all that is life.”