London-based experimental collective caroline have announced their forthcoming sophomore album, caroline 2, due out May 30. Alongside the news, the eight-piece group shared a new single, “Tell Me I Never Knew That,” featuring acclaimed artist Caroline Polachek.
The track marks a bold collaboration between two distinct musical forces. Built around a hypnotic riff first sketched out by guitarist Casper Hughes, the song’s catchy top line was originally dubbed “Backstreet Boys” by the band for its pop sensibility. They jokingly imagined Polachek singing it—until, a year later, the idea became real. Polachek not only contributed vocals but also wrote additional melodic layers and spent hours improvising in the studio, helping shape the final structure.
“Caroline was amazing,” the band shared. “We were still recording at about 1:30am… even though she’d been singing for about 6 hours. It was an inspiring thing to witness.”
The accompanying video for “Tell Me I Never Knew That” is a collage of intimate, nostalgic footage captured by the band and their friends over the past few years—echoing the song’s emotional undercurrents and the group’s tight-knit creative ethos.
caroline 2 picks up where their acclaimed 2022 self-titled debut left off, but takes their sound into new territory. The record promises a broader sonic and thematic scope, exploring musical simultaneity and layering off-kilter rhythms with emotive harmonies and sweeping orchestration. Its opening track, “Total euphoria,” exemplifies this approach—blending clashing instruments, swelling strings and a blast of electronic noise that pushes their sound to new extremes.
The album was recorded primarily at Big Jelly Studios in Ramsgate, with production by Jasper Llewellyn, Casper Hughes and Mike O’Malley. It features all eight members of the ensemble, whose lineup includes strings, brass, winds and multi-instrumental percussion.
Following their debut at Rewire Festival, caroline have announced new live dates throughout the UK, Europe and Japan.
Photo credit: Mehreen Rizvi
