If the name Caroline Polachek is not yet obvious to you (wtf?), don’t worry. The pop diva has been bursting into the public ears for the past years, but this is not her first try. Icon of the indie scene by being 50 percent of the mid-2000’s synth-pop band Chairlift, the singer is no stranger to the scene and has been able to mature her music until this 14th February 2023, everything changed.

Spiritual daughter of Björk, collaborator of Beyonce, the late Sophie or Charli XCX, the singer has only grown in power during these last years. The second album is often a key moment in the career of an artist… Here everything seems obvious.

Welcome !

Carried by the recent “Welcome To My Island“, Caroline knew how to hold in suspense a crowd of curious music lovers until the end. When we start this album, the first thing that comes to our ears is obviously the sound !

And here, we are disoriented… Taken towards a soft world where the time follows its short, the bass hums on the high voice of the singer. Immersed in the reverb or lodged deep in our ears, The artist’s voice is honored throughout the project and in surprising registers. Mixing the styles, while keeping this class, this nostalgia and this melancholy which is proper to her, the singer takes us in her deliriums andher reflections.

Sometimes hyperpop, sometimes vocal pop, Caroline even has the luxury to invite Grimes and Dido (invited by letter please) for a colorful featuring. This album is rich, dense and with each listening offers us its subtleties, reward of our patience and our attention in this world which turns so quickly. Worlds clash between the brilliance of “Sunset” and the ethereal smoothness of “Hoperdrunk Everasking”. And the colors blend together to make the perfect picture.

Through a wide sound palette, from acoustic to synth, through ethereal voices to whispers, Caroline imposes herself.

Overhype ?

Being undoubtedly the most expected album of this beginning of the year, the flop was more than possible. But through a wide sound palette, from acoustic to synth, through ethereal voices to whispers, Caroline imposes herself. Her hit “Bunny Is A Rider” reminds us how well the singer knows how to mix simple pop with much more complicated tracks in terms of production (“Blood And Butter”). A true progressive pop in which Caroline surpasses herself and everything we could have hoped for her. when the hit “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings” arrived in our ears. Through a mystical artistic direction and a project with different charms, we are conquered and “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You” is a real slap in the face, a gift from the decades of pop experimentations that we owe to Sophie, Charli XCX and the whole hyperpop scene. “Billions” will come to close this journey with a soft return, a softness of its own. We are not far from ASMR… with subs ! We dream of staying in this idyllic world forever…

It’s complicated not to be deeply touched by this project and despite a dozen listens the surprise remains fresh. Cornerstone of a new genre, a permanent evolution, Caroline Polachek is a name to remember in music history. In a world where the less educated are screaming at the top of their voices, Caroline shares her inner heart in a noisy 43-minute silence. A 10/10 from start to finish.