Caroline

Whipped by a sadistic northern wind, Rome's new spring is running late, just like a good many of the audience at the Largo Venue on Via Prenestina. But it's a night not to be missed, because Caroline are coming over from London, less than a year after releasing the astonishing "Caroline 2". Acclaimed by critics for its almost magical ability to dissolve the fiercest of contrasts, the young English band's latest work is being brought to Italy for three dates in Rome, Bologna and Milan, sparking excitement among longtime fans and newcomers alike, all eager to discover live this collective of musicians poised between madness and fearless artistic courage.

Past 9pm, the group takes up position in a semicircle on the stage of Largo Venue, as if in a musical ritual where the players can look each other in the eye and form a kind of bubble of sound. They open with the ethereal delicacy of "Song Two", amid neo-folk guitars and the first dissonances unleashed by the chamber violin. The show thrives on moments of searing beauty, as in "U R UR ONLY ACHING", which unfurls into a hypnotic, endless coda bordering on the most melancholy shoegaze. The guitar chords that open "Dark Blue" are the kind that bring tears to your face, while the violin swells into a crescendo, setting a mood that wouldn't be out of place in a black-and-white Alexander Payne film. Thunderous applause greets the band as they thank the audience in perfect Italian.

From the choral lament of "When I Get Home" to the crescendo of "Tell Me I Never Knew That", Caroline stage an orchestral spectacle, a soundtrack capable of cutting through space and time, moving between harrowing noise passages and atmospheric openings, as in "Beautiful Ending".

The group naturally devotes plenty of space to their latest album, continuing with the Velvet Underground-esque guitar drive of "Two Riders Down" before announcing the bold experiment "Coldplay Cover", telling the audience the story behind a track recorded in two separate rooms, mixing two distinct songs together.

Bringing down the curtain is "Total Euphoria", which unfolds into a whirlwind of jazzy touches, folk guitars and frenzied strings.

After more than an hour of music, Caroline also prove live their natural ability to sketch musical scenarios of great refinement and powerful emotional impact.

Ride the wave of great music

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