Day For Caroline: A Tale of Two Sounds
The Folk-Rock Outfit Reinvent Their Sound with a New Double-Single, When The Day Breaks and I Can See
By Maximilian Levy
Embedded Files
Joining the ranks of Kaurna Land bands to showcase their sounds through Swirl Records this year is Day for Caroline, an alternative folk-rock group formed in the basements of Adelaide University’s Elder Conservatorium of Music. With the November 22nd unveiling of their double single, When The Day Breaks and I Can See, Day for Caroline have marked their first Swirl collaboration with a noteworthy fluctuation from their typical sonic calibre, demonstrating considerable distinction from their Television-evoking You Won’t Feel This Way Tomorrow EP from 2023. Mixed independently and later mastered by James Brown from Wizard Tone Studios, this release signifies the initiation of a new phase in Day for Caroline’s sonic excursion, as well as an early indication of what we can expect to hear on their debut album, scheduled for release in early 2025.
Inspired by monumental rock ensembles like The Velvet Underground and Wilco, the infectious and idiosyncratic sounds of Day for Caroline are characterised by a thoughtful interplay between folk melodies, hearty rock grooves, and their willingness to explore abstract storytelling. The group is comprised of five jazz graduates: Jack Willsmore assumes lyrical and vocal responsibilities whilst sharing guitar duties with William Joyner, who performs lap steel on When The Day Breaks. Former bass player Solomon Young now flutters his fingers across a keyboard since Lily Appelt and her double bass joined the group earlier in 2024, and Jack Barton commands the drumkit with dexterity and grace, providing daze-inducing rock patterns or ambient textures, depending on the feel.
The decision to pair these two singles together was born out of a desire to represent two sides of the band and two sides of Jack Willsmore’s writing style. When The Day Breaks falls into Day for Caroline’s classical folk-rock comfort zone, feeling natural and comfortable in a lush harmonic bubble of warm acoustics, sparkling keys, and the resonant cadence of a gliding lap steel. Leaning on the shoulders of acts like Wilco, Elliot Smith, and Jim O’Rourke, the song’s configuration was effectively constructed in the midst of an impromptu jam.
“I brought it in one night when we were playing a Monday night residency at the Cranker. Without rehearsing it, we gave it a crack, and it pretty much sorted itself out.” – Jack Willsmore
Before being connected with any music, When The Day Breaks was lyrically assembled from an assorted collection of pre-written lyrics, short poems, and various notebooks in Jack’s possession.
“I had a big bank of lyrics I’d already written, and once I had an idea of the music I could piece it together over the melody. I picked out lines like I was sketching out a feeling, rather than one specific situation. But looking back, I’ve formed some sort of meaning through playing it live, making slight variations to the lyrics with each performance. It’s gone through a few phases.” – Jack Willsmore
When the Day Breaks opens with a soft acoustic guitar intro, elegantly complemented by warm keys that follow a modest chord progression with gentle, twinkling keyboard and lap steel accompaniments. With a deep, American sounding twang, Jack packs a well of words into each line, evoking the embellished lines of a Bob Dylan-esque lyrical tirade. For the first three minutes, the sound remains subdued and intimate, until a gritty rock section emerges to add contrast, intertwining with the acoustic melody. This electric section features raw, expressive noodling with bends and slides along the lap steel, supported by climbing keys in the background for a brief but captivating interlude. The song then retreats to its original acoustic arrangement with harmonised vocals, creating a reflective mood that ultimately resolves with a slow strum and intricate fingerpicking, leaving a lasting impression over its 5-minute, 30-second runtime.
The artistic purpose pulsating through Side A surrounded the preservation of abstraction and interpretation, a blueprint that came into direct contrast for the highly specified creation of I Can See, which attracts a more potent sense of density and emotive layering. A greater period of time was required to develop the B-side, largely on account of Jack’s internal negotiation regarding his lyrics, which, in resistance to the unsystematic lyrical arrangement of When The Day Breaks, draw on more personal sentiments and lived experiences.
“I sat with [the first verse] for three months, turning it over and over and taking it away on holiday, just trying to refine exactly what I was trying to say with it. It took a long time to come together.” – Jack Willsmore
I Can See assumes a subdued and more delicate soundscape than the pop-folk-rock assembly of When The Day Breaks, with the structure of this 5-and-a-half minute reverie centring around Jack’s fingerpicked acoustic guitar, arousing the intricate stylings of John Martyn or Nick Drake. Complete with subtle harmonics and fluttering climbs up the neck to create both low and high-pitched textures, Jack’s playing is complemented by his wispy vocals and layered harmonies with Lily Appelt, adding a degree of musical depth without overwhelming the simplicity of this arrangement. This vocal technique also added to the complexity of I Can See’s production, and marked the longest stretch Jack has spent recording vocals for any track.
“I started to get quite obsessive about getting this kind of breathy voice, and it was killing me by the end because I had to take these huge gulps of air to be able to make it through a line."
While largely dominated by fingerpicking, the track features moments of gentle strumming interspersed amidst the minimalist instrumentation, which allows the listener to focus on Jack’s brooding lyrics. As a listener, I pick up on a variety of sentiments in Jack’s words, corresponding to the personal experiences that led to them. There’s a sense of tension between connection and isolation, a search for understanding in relationships, and a longing to escape - or transform - amidst existential perplexity.
To complement this introspective tone, Solomon Young offers a flickering pitter-patter of keys, and the ambient character of Jack Barton’s percussion act as a complementary texture to I Can See’s acoustic panorama.
There’s a fabulous contrast between the contemporary folk-rock interplay of When The Day Breaks and the meditative acoustic slow-burn of I Can See. In Jack’s words: “I think these two tunes hold all the key elements of Day for Caroline within them. If you were new to the band, or even if you were familiar with the EP, [these songs] move away from that and sum up the direction that we’re going in.”
Day for Caroline currently plan to release another single with Swirl Records in January of 2025, closely followed by a single launch at the Grace Emily Hotel on the 31st. Soon after, the group will unveil their debut full-length album, also through Swirl Records.
As a friend of Jack’s, I’ve been fortunate to hear various demos and mixes of When The Day Breaks and I Can See as they were refined and developed over a sequence of months. It’s been an enthralling experience bearing witness to the step-by-step process of constructing these wonderful songs, and as I finish this article, I wait in eager anticipation for the next time I’m able to write about Day for Caroline’s music.
All photos by Grace Vandals.
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