caroline – “Coldplay Cover” [Video]

London’s shape-shifting octet caroline are back with another captivating curveball: “Coldplay cover,” the latest single from their second album caroline 2, out today via Rough Trade Records. The new track arrives with a mesmerizing video co-directed by band members Jasper Llewellyn, Mike O’Malley, and Casper Hughes—shot in a single day with help from their tight-knit creative circle.

Despite what the title might suggest, “Coldplay cover” isn’t a cover at all. Instead, it’s a thoughtful tangle of contradictions—two separate songs playing at once in different rooms, somehow flowing together into one surreal, emotional whole. It’s all about holding clashing feelings at once and making something strangely beautiful out of the chaos. The band calls it “spatial polyphony”—we call it a trip worth taking.

caroline 2 finds the band pushing deeper into their own experimental territory, blending pastoral folk textures, jittery emo rhythms, and noisy electronic bursts into something that feels like it’s barely holding together—and that’s exactly the point. Album opener “Total euphoria” sets the tone with criss-crossing guitars, ricocheting drums, and a final noise drop that’ll knock the wind out of you. This isn’t just a follow-up to their 2022 debut—it’s a reinvention.

The band, now a fully-formed eight-piece, has been building this new chapter across a patchwork of UK sessions, from countryside hideouts in Scotland to old churches in France. The journey’s paid off—caroline 2 feels like the sound of a band not just experimenting, but owning their sound.

Pre-save caroline 2: https://caroline.ffm.to/caroline2

Upcoming Shows:
Thu, 30 May – London, Rough Trade East
Sat, 31 May – Bristol, Trinity
Sun, 1 Jun – Falmouth, KCM Church
Tue, 3 Jun – London, Islington Assembly Hall – SOLD OUT
Wed, 4 Jun – Cardiff, The Gate
Fri, 6 Jun – Manchester, Band On The Wall
Sat, 7 Jun – Glasgow, St Lukes
Sun, 8 Jun – Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
Wed, 3 Sept – Tokyo, WWWX
Tue, 9 Sept – Amsterdam, Tolhuistuin
Thu, 11 Sept – Aarhus, Alter Festival
Fri, 12 Sept – Copenhagen, Loppen
Sun, 14 Sept – Brussels, Ancienne Belgique
Mon, 15 Sept – Paris, Petit Bain
Tue, 16 Sept – Lille, L’Aéronef
Sun, 12 Oct – Prague, Meetfactory
Mon, 13 Oct – Berlin, Silent Green