In her newest release, “Late Start,” New Jersey-born and Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Carol Ades shows that the best part of her career is right around the corner.
Before adopting the pseudonym Carol Ades, the artist was known as Caroline Pennell. She received global acclaim as a songwriter for voices such as Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato. However, since 2021, Ades has taken her music and unique and intimate voice into her own hands. With the release of her first single “I Can’t Wait to Be British” in June 2021 and its accompanying EP Through released in October 2021, Ades displays how tumultuous feelings of sadness and angst, as well as horniness, inspire her artistry. Through showcases her immense capacity for vulnerability and reads as a series of unfiltered and raw diary entries, drawing fans who relate to Ades’ pain and heartbreak. Since Through, she has released an additional EP, Sadtown USA in December 2022—an ode to feeling special, vulnerable, and simply not okay. She has also supported multiple artists on tour including Lizzy McAlpine (2022) and Holly Humberstone (2024), all the while connecting with new audiences. Touring the country clad in her go-to uniform: a black pinafore layered over a white blouse, Ades is a force to be reckoned with.
Ades released her fourth single of the year, “Late Start” on August 9th. In a recent Instagram post, Ades dedicates “Late Start” to those who “feel like they’re running out of time.” She says, “For as long as I remember, a part of me has always felt like I was falling behind” (@carolades on Instagram). In “Late Start,” Ades intimately outlines her struggles to fit in with her peers whom she feels are moving quickly past her. Going out or “talking the same old shit” with her friends both sound good to Ades, but she still fears that she is behind.
However, “Late Start” is also infused with a new sense of hope. Her strongly relatable lyrics are punctuated by mellow and melodious vocals that propel the song and Ades forward regardless of her fears of loneliness, isolation, and abandonment. Despite the song’s production sounding like a weighted metronome ticking away in the background, Ades understands that the “best part is only around the corner.” Similarly, with this new release and Ades’ upcoming fall “Late Start Tour,” the singer-songwriter has boundless success and good times yet to come. Her unwavering sense of self and belief that she can (and will) make it through is evident throughout her work, and as her artistry develops, so will her career. As Ades says, she doesn’t need directions here or there; she’s paving her own path forward, and it’s clear that Ades is indeed turning the corner. Yes, Carol, the best is yet to come.