UK Octet Caroline fuse chamber-folk (a la Grizzly Bear) with slowcore and post-rock. The sophomore LP Caroline 2, self-produced by members of the band, is simultaneously more experimental than ita predecessor and more melodic. Each track is built around a mournful melody, immersed in cascades of instrumentation from bluegrass strings to dissonant horns to synthesiser drones. The arrangements, which combine, mutate and clash often all in the same track deconstruct the simple tunes, emphasising atmosphere and emotion over form and structure. The components of each songs arrangement often work against each other rather than in tandem while the main melody balances the chaotic and the harmonic. The lyrics, often-speechlike and incoherent outcry in an emo-like fashion bringing the accompaniments to life. The assembly of songs is both postmodern in its approach to genre and impressionistic in its orchestral color and shapelessness.
The opener Total Euphoria is a deconstructed chamber-folk melody with a bright melody over a loose bed of guitar echoes and dissonant violin. Song two on the other hand mixes discordant strings, light guitar plucking and a fuzzy drone though the melodic vocal is less effective in this case. Tell me I never knew is an otherwise straightforward folk ballad in off kilter timing, sung by Caroline Polachek. When I Get Home is a standard Celtic melody if not for the pounding beat in the background and the tense squeaks of mandolin after the midpoint. U R Ur Only Aching sounds like a Midwest emo ballad a la American Football. The rousing melody of Coldplay cover.…Well could be exactly what it says on the tin apart from when it drifts into the back of the mix to be replaced by a banjo-bass drone duet. Best of all, Two Riders Down is a yearning and drunken singsong pulled apart by free-rhythm drum patterns and industrial noise before the second half gallops to a dissonant crescendo somewhat reminiscent of Yo La Tengo’s rousing dream pop. Closer, Beautiful Ending caps off the collection with a siren drone and a harpsichord driven melody. Once again the instrumentals clash and combine seamlessly, but coast out in relative harmony.
The songs are more compositional than the debut but still full of ideas and experiments that borrow and reference familiar tropes without ever sounding plagiarising. The limitation is that the two best tracks (Total Euphoria and Two Riders Down) tower over the rest. Very few bands excel so much so much in deriving harmony from chaos (reminiscent of the highly influential, Grizzly Bear’s Yellow House).
Label: Rough Trade
Released: 30 May, 2025
Losing My Edge Rating: 8/10
Best Tracks: Total Euphoria, Two Riders Down