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caroline – caroline 2: A Beautiful Collapse of Sound & Silence
🕊️ New Music World Review – July 2025
You’ll either play it once and delete it, or carry it around like a minor religion.
Liner Notes
Album Title: caroline 2
Artist: caroline
Release Date: May 30, 2025
Label: Rough Trade Records
Genre(s): Experimental / Post-Rock / Chamber Folk / Avant-Pop
Runtime: 39:07
Studio(s): Big Jelly Studios (Ramsgate, UK) + scattered homes & half-finished spaces
Produced By: caroline
Engineered By: Syd Kemp
Mixed By: Jason Agel
Mastered By: Heba Kadry
Key Collaborators: Caroline Polachek (vocals on “Tell Me I Never Knew That”)
What the Critics Say
| Outlet | Score | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|
| Pitchfork | 8.2/10 | “Controlled collisions and emotional ephemera.” |
| The Guardian | ★★★★☆ | “More confident, more chaotic, more beautiful.” |
| NME | 4/5 | “A hazy, headphone‑tight journey into the uncanny.” |
| Exclaim! | 8/10 | “Their most elusive and human work yet.” |
| Clunk Magazine | ★★★★★ | “Weird, wild, and wonderful. caroline are unstoppable.” |
| Metacritic Avg. | 87 | “Universal acclaim.” |
New Music World Review
It begins like a conversation halfway through, where the words don’t matter and the pauses do. caroline 2 wanders into the room with an elbowful of violins, a drum machine that’s having an existential crisis, and the ghost of a party that no one showed up to. Songs dissolve like bad memories at sunrise — especially “Tell Me I Never Knew That,” where Caroline Polachek’s voice floats through like a text you forgot to send but felt anyway. There’s humor, like in “Coldplay cover,” and anguish, like in the parts where nothing happens on purpose. It’s music that’s allergic to resolution, but deeply devoted to presence. Beautiful in the way traffic sounds are beautiful when you’re too tired to hate them. You’ll either play it once and delete it, or carry it around like a minor religion.
Track List
- Total euphoria
- Song two
- Tell me I never knew that (feat. Caroline Polachek)
- When I get home
- U R UR ONLY ACHING
- Coldplay cover
- Two riders down
- Beautiful ending
Listen
Stream caroline 2 on:
Youtube | Spotify | Apple Music
Wait — Who Are caroline?
An eight-piece band from London who sound like a cross between a youth orchestra and a group of friends trying not to cry in a warehouse. Formed from classical, DIY, and math rock backgrounds, caroline make music that feels more like weather than songs.
Think: Mogwai raised on A24 soundtracks. Or if Talk Talk were really into zoning out in rehearsal.
That Polachek Feature, Though
According to the band, “Tell Me I Never Knew That” was nearly finished when they imagined Caroline Polachek singing over it. Rather than overthink it, they texted her.
She showed up that night and recorded vocals on the spot. Her presence transforms the track — like hearing your inner monologue sung back to you by an angel who’s tired of being polite.
Editor’s Note: Best Listening Environment
| Setting | Score |
|---|---|
| Wandering a misty park at 6am | ✅✅✅✅✅ |
| Crying on a train (mildly) | ✅✅✅✅ |
| Doing taxes | ❌ |
| Staring at ceiling fan | ✅✅✅✅✅ |
Related Reads
- Why Vinyl Still Matters in 2025
- Revenge of the Liner Notes
- Beyond the Algorithm: Music Discovery Rituals
Final Thoughts
caroline’s sophomore album isn’t louder than their debut. It’s not even bigger. But it’s more precise in its unraveling, more generous in its restraint. You don’t listen to caroline 2 to be swept away. You listen to remember what staying put sounds like.
