caroline’s early show at the ICA in London was nothing short of a spiritual experience.

Debuting a new album’s worth of material before disappearing into the studio, caroline unveiled just under one hour’s worth of music at their first of a string of shows between London’s ICA and Bristol’s Strange Brew. This first show was humbly introduced by Casper Hughes (singer, guitarist and founding member) as a chance to trial their music live, a chance to take on board any advice from the audience before they laid down the final versions, but I wondered if they truly thought that any of us could pick apart their extraordinarily stunning longform pieces, or fault the absolute precision with which they played their instruments, or slate the compositions which had so clearly been dismantled and reformed hundreds of times before ever reaching our ears. The show felt less like a trial and more an affirmation of the album’s transcendental qualities, a reassurance to caroline that the beauty of their new music spread far and wide around them.

We all were purged by the music in that hall. Sat around caroline as they faced each other, the audience circled the band like a congregation, all of us participating in rather than simply experiencing the album. A glance around the faces told a hundred stories; many people cried, or slept, or simply stared abjectly into the distance during the performance. Some people were stood, and others sat with their palms against the wooden floor, connected and grounded by the earth. Upon everybody’s faces was a graceful expression, tilted in melancholy but teeming with an appreciation for what unfolded in this hall.

Technically the show was spectacular, with caroline’s songs displaying an even deeper experimental quality than previous songs like ‘Dark blue’ and ‘IWR’. Unchanged was caroline’s off-time expertise and their pursuit for rhythm in songs lacking any obvious structure, but adding to this was an incorporation of autotuned vocals, alongside breakbeats in their otherwise folky and arthouse soundscape. caroline are perhaps emphasising more on intricately layered guitars to save their wonderous horns and strings for the most climactic moments, but it would be impossible for this band to ever lose the signature folky post-rock sound pumping through every song.

Sometimes with caroline, it feels easier to explain the images their music conjures up than to explain the music itself. Perhaps that speaks volumes about how fertile the band’s sound is for emotion and imagination. After the show, a few people described wanting to nestle away in nature surrounded by their close ones, enjoying simple comforts around a fire. This is a common desire attached to folk music, but caroline’s impact is resoundingly different. By the almighty power of their band, caroline are awe-inspiring, and at times overwhelming in emotional cadence. They don’t offer cosy campfire vibes, but instead a treacherous journey through the coldest forces of nature, which eventually transudes into joy as their erratic, misaligned music suddenly slots into place, creating a feeling that is not dissimilar to the feeling of sunlight piercing an otherwise dreary and rainy day.

We left the congregation silently, absorbed in the emotion of caroline’s performance, considering whatever one considers after such a journey. One thing was clear, though – that caroline’s next album, whenever it may be, shall be a true triumph.