caroline: caroline 2 [Album Review]

caroline
caroline 2
Rough Trade Records [2025]

“Like a storm in slow motion—caroline 2 reshapes post-rock with warmth, wonder, and fearless ambition.”

Album Overview: Formed in South London in 2017, caroline began as a quiet experiment between university friends Jasper Llewellyn and Casper Hughes. The project gradually expanded as other musicians joined—including Mike O’Malley—until it evolved into a full eight-piece ensemble. With string, brass, and woodwind players rounding out the group, caroline crafted a sound that feels both intimate and expansive.

caroline 2 marks a shift from the exploratory sketches of their debut to a more confident and cohesive statement. It doesn’t pick up where the first record left off—it reframes the band entirely. The album opens with the chaotic but controlled “Total euphoria,” setting the tone for a collection that refuses predictability. Acoustic and electronic elements push and pull against each other, creating a tension that’s both unsettling and beautiful. Songs seem to bloom out of nowhere, drifting and morphing like a thought mid-formation. Even when the layered vocals surround you from all sides, they never feel overwhelming—just immersive.

Musical Style: caroline build their sound on traditional rock foundations, but their palette stretches far beyond. Orchestral swells, jazz undertones, and experimental structures give their music an unclassifiable feel. Ambient passages lead into bursts of post-rock energy. Rhythms often shift unexpectedly, and melodies drift through moments of dissonance and resolution. Their arrangements feel shaped more by instinct and space than by standard verse-chorus structure, making each listen feel like discovering a new route through familiar terrain.

Evolution of Sound: While their debut felt like a collage of earlier sessions, caroline 2 arrives with clarity and purpose. The band has stepped beyond their early fascination with silence and restraint. Here, they embrace messiness and contradiction—creating tension through layered instrumentation, dynamic shifts, and bold sonic choices. The record, tracked across various locations in the UK and Europe, reflects a more connected, collaborative energy. There’s a newfound boldness in how they push their ideas, weaving dissonance and harmony into something that always feels alive.

Artists with Similar Fire: caroline’s sound resonates with the emotional depth and gradual builds of Black Country, New Road and the folk-drone explorations of Lankum. The vocal interplay might remind listeners of Dirty Projectors, while their atmospheric shifts nod toward the cinematic textures of Sigur Rós. Fans of Do Make Say Think and Tortoise will find familiarity in the band’s rhythmic experimentation. There’s also a shared sensitivity with Bon Iver’s layered production, Pinegrove’s emotional openness, and the melodic instincts of Young Guv.

Pivotal Tracks: “Total euphoria” opens the album with tangled guitar lines and a sudden blast of noise that fractures the entire track—setting the tone for the record’s volatility. “Tell me I never knew that” features a striking guest performance by Caroline Polachek, whose airy vocal threads through the band’s textured backdrop like a gust of wind through curtains. “Coldplay cover” is a conceptual standout—two songs performed in parallel, as if overheard in separate rooms. Its accompanying one-day video shoot reflects that layered perception perfectly. “U R UR ONLY ACHING” grows and contracts within itself, building from a sparse, autotuned hush into something much bigger—proof that the band knows how to control scale like few others.

Lyrical Strength: caroline’s lyrics don’t follow traditional storytelling arcs. Instead, they offer glimpses of thought, memory, and feeling—more like overheard reflections than direct messages. Delivered in a tone that feels casual yet poetic, lines often loop or echo themselves, reinforcing the album’s themes of uncertainty and emotional recursion. Vocals serve as another layer in the ensemble, less about commanding attention and more about deepening the mood.

Final Groove: caroline 2 is a bold, immersive evolution for a band that already defied expectations from the start. It’s both cerebral and emotional, abstract and grounding—an album that rewards your full attention but also surprises when you least expect it. Whether you’re pulled in by the intricate instrumentation or the waves of subtle harmony, caroline have crafted a work that resists being boxed in. Their world feels wider now, more curious and confident. Wherever they float next, it’s clear the journey will be anything but ordinary.

CAROLINE LINKS
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Rough Trade Records