With an almost otherworldly voice and a wide-ranging vision of pop music, American artist Caroline Polachek creates a magical universe – captivating, dramatic and sensual. This was clearly evident in 2023 when she invited the Roskilde Festival into the world of her enthralling songs. “A performer and singer by the grace of God,” wrote Danish media Soundvenue in its review of the concert, and ever since there has been a strong desire to bring Polachek back. This summer, she finally returns!
Following her time with the indie band Chairlift, Polachek made a strong mark as one of the great art-pop figures of our time with her solo album Pang (2019), which, as her first album under her own name, garnered almost ecstatic reviews and placed her high on numerous lists of the year’s best albums. A debut album of that calibre is hard to follow up, but Polachek didn’t falter when she followed it up in 2023 with the masterpiece Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
“An album of breathtakingly original pop songs,” wrote PopMatters in a glowing review. The album firmly cemented Polachek’s reputation as an artist who, like icons such as Kate Bush and Björk, combines bold experimentation, futuristic sounds and eclectic genre fusions with top-tier pop songwriting on tracks such as “Sunset” and “Welcome to My Island”. On the album, Polachek embraces a synthesis of everything from new age and trip-hop to folk and avant-pop in a lavish whole. And who else could feature both pop singer Dido and the experimental bagpiper Brìghde Chaimbeul on the same album?
Her musical breadth is also reflected in collaborations with major pop stars such as Beyoncé and Charli XCX, as well as more alternative artists including Weyes Blood, Blood Orange and the band caroline. She remains one of the most gifted and eclectic pop artists of her generation, and expectations are high as she finally returns to Roskilde Festival this summer.