The London group's collaborative synergy excites in a winding, engaging, and more complete follow-up to their debut from 2022.
30 · 05 · 2025
The first time I encountered caroline, I took notice. The music was magnificent, featuring an uplifting melody, complex guitar work, and impressive harmonies, but what truly captured my interest was the large number of members. Their 2020 self-titled album felt less like a debut and more like a collection of tracks. And indeed, it was. Now, five years later, they’ve released their second album, aptly named ‘caroline 2’; a captivating listen with clever lyrics, memorable melodies, and experimental elements.
The album kicks off with ‘Total Euphoria’. A murmur, two guitars, drums, and intertwining vocals join the mix. Strangely, this serves as the foundation the song requires. It seems to settle down for a moment, but not really. Just when you think you grasp the track, some piercing violin and electronics burst in, and after a brief interval, the song completes its cycle. It certainly lives up to its title. What caroline has skillfully done here is provide us with a foundational concept for the album, while keeping some elements hidden.
The lead single ‘Tell Me I Never Knew That’ features Caroline Polachek, whom the band reached out to via direct messages. Polachek’s contributions encouraged the song to evolve in unexpected ways, making ‘Tell Me I Never Knew That’ one of the standout tracks on the album. The texture and timbre of Polachek’s voice, along with multi-layered harmonies set against baroque-pop production, are a true pleasure to listen to.
Another standout track is ‘Coldplay Cover’, which starts with soft vocals before a creak disrupts the ambiance. Is it a recording hiccup from capturing eight members at once? Rumor has it that half of the band recorded in a living room while the other half was in a kitchen. The creak is actually engineer Syd Kemp moving a microphone from one room to another. As the song unfolds, rich melodies flow from the speakers, harmonies swirl gently, and droning guitars fill in the spaces. The vocals then sound distant and detached, while the second half recedes into the background. Once again, the challenges of capturing eight people in a confined space are evident.
caroline’s debut album was a compilation of ten songs they had written, rehearsed, and performed live before recording. In ‘2’, the band approached their new tracks as a unified piece. Every element is purposeful and intentional; there is a structure to everything, and the songs transition in a specific manner, interacting in ways that their debut tracks did not.
‘2’ is a more robust album than its predecessor. It takes greater risks; it’s catchier and resembles a cohesive body of work. This truly feels like caroline’s ‘proper’ debut album. Since their emergence in 2017, they have distinguished themselves. Now they stand out once more, but this time due to the strength of ‘2’ rather than simply the fact that there are eight of them.
8/10
Words: Nick Roseblade
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The first time I listened to "Caroline," I took notice. The music was magnificent, showcasing a soaring melody, intricate guitar work, and amazing harmonies, but what