Caroline - Whelans - 15/03/26
For the past five years, this eight-piece ensemble from London has been one of those IYKYK bands. Their geographically peculiar Appalachian-Folk sound is like an experimental, more analogue Broken Social Scene. They’ve released two self-titled albums, both thoroughly compelling and casting a hypnotic spell. Once you start listening, it’s impossible to stop and each listen offers fresh insight.
On their Dublin debut, they set the scene with an audio recording of Lorenzo Senni’s “Canone Infinito” as they assemble in a semicircle, almost like two teams, left and right of the stage. Cutely, ‘Song two’ is their first song. Alex McKenzie’s solo saxophone rattles the room like Sunn O))) might, performing a collective palate cleanser. caroline’s loud, quiet, loud delivery isn’t unique, but their quiet is exceptionally so. This is the most remarkable feature of the night. The crowd goes full library save for the eruptions of applause at each track’s end. Even between songs, the quiet remains to preserve the magic. I recall taking a sip from my drink and hearing the ice cubes clink, such was the palpable reverence.
‘U R UR Only Aching’ descends into a trickle of sound as two facing band members rest their heads on each other’s shoulders. The strings of their respective guitars and basses are barely brushed, creating one of the most intimate acts I’ve witnessed onstage. Their courageous first single, ‘Dark Blue,’ is astounding. A patient, crushing track that has the crowd awestruck. At the end, Oliver Hamilton wrestles with his violin as if fighting to keep someone alive. Magdalena McLean’s turn on ‘When I get home’ is so exposed she might have stood there naked. It was powerful and emotional and might have yielded the biggest cheer of the night. ‘Tell Me I Never Knew That’ has the audience singing along in their inside voices, just helping the track along like a parent might assist a child.
‘Skydiving onto the library roof’ boasts numerous uninterrupted moments of silence, with the musicians synchronised by gestures and subtle movements. Standing there feels like witnessing something organic in nature. ‘Two riders down’ is truly transcendent. In a singular but very humorous audience interaction, Casper Hughes reveals that ‘Coldplay Cover’ is actually their sound engineer Sid walking between two rooms recording as the band performs two different songs. This wild concept is executed by Magdalena walking with a mic back and forth across the stage as the band splits in two and performs the same feat live.
The final track, ‘total euphoria’, builds to a jarring wall of sound crescendo. On cue, the crowd erupts into whoops and cheers, releasing their suppressed energy in unison. It was a wonderful moment of symbiosis, as indeed the entire gig was. The band delivered something precious and the crowd recognised and savoured it – unspoken.