It started with a snowstorm in Nashville.

The city slowed to a standstill, roads frozen over, skies gray. But for Caroline Romano, the weather outside mirrored what was happening internally. 

“My mom called and asked how I was doing, and I didn’t really know what to tell her, as I didn’t know myself,” Romano said.

That moment, a quiet breakdown during an ordinary phone call, became the catalyst for her single “IDK These Days,” now out alongside her EP “How The Good Girls Die.”

The track, stripped down and emotionally direct, captures a deeply personal moment of unraveling.

“I wrote ‘IDK These Days’ during a period of inexplicable anger and frustration,” Romano said. “It’s about the little things, like snow and traffic, that used to be trivial, suddenly becoming overwhelming. It’s that unsettling feeling when even your mom notices you’re not yourself, and you’re stuck in this state of discontent, feeling like a middle schooler again.”

The Nashville-based alt-pop artist is no stranger to raw storytelling, but this time, she peels everything back, even the production. The result is an intimate portrait of discontent and confusion that feels less like a polished single and more like a diary entry set to music.

“I wrote ‘IDK These Days’ last January. I remember it was the week it snowed in Nashville, and all of the city was pretty much shut down,” Romano said. “I was spending a lot of time inside with my own thoughts, and I remember feeling so overwhelmed and upset and worried for no particular reason.”

As the feelings swelled, they broke loose.

“I found myself crying over traffic and the fact that it was snowing,” she said. “I got on the phone with my mom and I started crying before she’d even had a chance to ask me how I was.”

That release found its way into a session with co-writer Cali Rodi and producer John the Dropout. 

“Later that week, my friend Cali Rodi and I braved the weather to go to my producer John the Dropout’s house, and that’s ‘IDK These Days’ was written,” Romano said.

“There was something so special about writing ‘IDK These Days’ in the room to just that guitar part,” she added. “I wanted to keep that intimacy of what we recorded in the room that day, because to me, in the best way, it feels more like a long rambling voice message at times than a full song.”

Romano wanted the simplicity to speak volumes.

“I knew a simplistic production would be ideal, and the guitar part John created is so cool. I really wanted to allow room for it to shine,” Romano said.

The result is a song that lingers, one that captures the awkward honesty of not knowing how to answer a simple question like, “How are you?”

“I hope anyone listening to ‘IDK These Days’ is reminded that it’s OK not to know what you’re feeling or how to put it into words,” Romano said. “I find so much comfort in realizing that most of my experiences aren’t particular to just me, and I hope this song is no different.”

She continued, “Honestly, admitting that I didn’t know how I was doing was a big step in improving my mental health. I encourage anyone listening to this song to reach out to trusted others as well in difficult times.”

“IDK These Days” appears on Romano’s EP, “How The Good Girls Die,” released on February 21. The EP offers a deeper look at her inner world, stitching together themes of heartbreak, identity loss and renewal.

“The title track on the EP, ‘How the Good Girls Die,’ is really the broad summary of this girl’s story, or her rise and fall, from start to finish of the EP,” Romano said. “It’s all about losing yourself to find yourself that comes with growing up, and everything that happens on that journey.”

Each song on the EP feels like its own chapter, all tied together by the ways heartbreak and chasing after big dreams can really change a person. There’s this steady sense of longing that runs through the whole project. It’s the kind of feeling that hits hard in your early twenties when everything feels intense and uncertain.

“‘How the Good Girls Die’ was inspired by my own experience navigating the past few years of my life in Nashville,” Romano said. “I experienced my first real heartbreak, my first time going out, turning 21 and finding my own, all in the last few years.”

“I saw mine and others’ perspectives of me change, and for a while, I felt like I was somebody new every other week,” she added. “At the time, it felt like the shy, reserved, quote ‘good girl’ I was for most of my life was nowhere to be found.”

Romano shared that trying to figure out who you are and who you want to become can feel both scary and freeing at the same time.

“I’m in a place now where I’m able to look back and realize these things, so in a dramatic way, I wanted to tell that story,” she said.

The creative process behind this EP took a different turn compared to Romano’s past projects, mainly because the title track, “How the Good Girls Die,” came last. Unlike before, when she had a clear idea of the theme or sound from the start, this time was more free-flowing.

She spent weeks simply writing music with friends, not fully realizing there was a bigger story unfolding until she looked back at the songs. It was that final track that pulled everything together and gave the EP its true identity.

“It’s sonically very volatile and strange at times, but I think it fits the overarching theme of the project just right,” Romano said.

When asked to sum it up, Romano said: “Longing, messy, honest.”

“Since my first two projects, I think I’ve grown as an artist and songwriter in that I’m simply more myself, and my music along with it,” she added. “The songs on this project are in many ways less polished and planned.”

“I think there’s a confidence that comes with getting older and getting to know your own emotions better, and I believe I’m more willing to experiment, take risks and show a side of myself I was once hesitant to,” she added.

Romano’s evolving sound blends genre without losing identity. 

“I tend to write in whatever genre I’ve been listening to, and I think my current sound is really a blend of all the phases I’ve been through in my life,” Romano said. “There have definitely been times when I’ve made a conscious effort to make a particular song sound a certain way, but I believe the sound I’ve arrived at now is really just a blend of a lot of music I like.”

Romano has found that honesty and relatability often go hand in hand. The songs that resonate most with listeners, she’s noticed, tend to be the ones where she’s at her most raw and specific. She gravitates toward vivid, detailed songwriting—those emotional snapshots that capture a feeling or moment—and it turns out, those are often the ones people connect with the most.

“I try not to put too much thought into what might be relatable or not, because I think a way everything is,” Romano said.

Hearing from fans has been a huge source of encouragement for Romano, reminding her to keep writing songs that feel raw and real, even when the experiences she’s drawing from seem deeply personal or oddly specific.

“It’s absolutely given me confidence in sharing parts of my life and emotions that can be intimidating at times to reveal,” Romano said. “Seeing that the lyrics and songs I write really can have an impact on people in a positive way is the greatest gift I could ever ask for, and it drives me everyday to be the best I can be.”

As for a favorite? “’They Say’ is a really special song to me,” Romano said. “It’s at times heavy, but also super wholesome. There’s a voice memo of several different memories with friends and family that plays at the end, and I’m very excited for people to hear it.”

Expect the unexpected. “I think the title track will sonically be the most unexpected song on the project,” she said. “There are a LOT of guitar based songs on the EP, but ‘How the Good Girls Die’ has some surprising piano, string and synth moments in it that really add to the drama of the song as a whole.”

As for what’s ahead, Romano is all in. She’s aiming to hit the stage more than ever before and make 2025 her most music-filled year yet, with plans to release more songs than she ever has in a single stretch.

“A sophomore album is definitely on the list of things I’m working towards, and I’m super excited about the music that’s already in the works,” Romano said. “I would love to do a show overseas this year as well. I think it would be so cool to meet fans from different parts of the world and play in places I’ve never played before.”

“Mostly though, my goal is to continue writing this story as it unfolds. It’s my favorite thing in the world to do, and I’m just so grateful I’m able to wake up each day and write music,” she added.