caroline

Londoners caroline have never been easy to pin down. A rising band, they began as a trio and expanded into an octet through improvisation sessions. In 2022, they released their eponymous debut album, a collection of songs that seek slowness, space, and repetition. In between one could discern an immaculate roaster of influences: 1970s British folk, Appalachian music, the Microphones’ avant-folk, American Football’s Midwest emo, and, of course, the post-rock of Slint, Tortoise, and Broken Social Scene. 

Like any great sequel, caroline 2 (2025) is a step forward. Orchestral when it needs to be, minimalist when the music calls for it, it is an LP that transcends structures and genres. Announced with Tell me I never knew that, featuring Caroline Polachek’s unmistakable voice, it thrives on collisions and contradictions to shape spontaneity and the process of creating music as a group. The result is eight tracks that push and pull between extremes, from simple melodies to walls of sound and devastating instrumentation. We could write in depth about each detail but let’s focus on just one song. In Coldplay cover the band splits into two, occupies two rooms, and plays different compositions at the same time, while a microphone records every moment. Experiments like these, bands such as caroline, are what keeps music alive – an unpretentious tribute to the moment when eight musicians let themselves be guided by the total euphoria of writing and playing songs until everything becomes a breath in unison. 

Released at the tail-end of May, caroline 2 has garnered rave reviews from critics and has been featured on Pitchfork, The Quietus, and NME’s best of the year lists. The band has been playing sold-out concerts across Europe and is coming to Portugal this spring for two concerts, on a unique opportunity to see and hear live a group that is sure to be heading for bigger stages.