The Carolines

The name The Carolines refers to more than one recording act, including a five-piece indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, a New York girl group, and a British girl group from Hatfield, UK.

Portland, Oregon band

The Portland group is a five-piece band active in the early 2000s. It includes brothers Aaron Trueb, who sings lead vocals and plays piano, and Nathan Trueb, who plays lead guitar, along with Nate Purscelley on guitars, trumpet and backing vocals, Matthew Lenhart on bass and backing vocals, and Jared Abraham on drums and backing vocals. The band describes its sound as drawing on late Beatles material, Supertramp and Steely Dan.

In 2001 the band independently releases a seven-song EP titled Don't Believe What You Hear. Two tracks from that release appear on the Band:Union vol. 2 compilation issued in Austria and Germany. The group tours extensively in the Pacific Northwest and performs at EMP-Seattle during the Pop Culture conference, where music writers and editors from around the world attend. It also plays shows with the Gin Blossoms, Imperial Teen and The Long Winters.

In 2003 the song “Gentleman” appears in the ski film documentary Superpark: The Movie, produced by Powder Magazine and AXIS. The band’s second release, Youth Electronics, appears in 2003, followed by Meet Me At The Marriot in 2005.

1960s New York girl group

The New York Carolines are active in the mid-1960s and include Carell Mancuso, Sylvia Torres, and sisters Trish and Evie Patane. The group begins as The Teardrops before taking the name The Carolines, which comes from one of Carell’s nicknames. At one point it also records under the name The Little Bits featuring Karyl Mann. In 1966 it records the single “Can’t Stop Lovin The Boy / You’re My Baby”. In 2018 Ace Records issues an EP containing three unreleased recordings from 1966.

British girl group

The British Carolines are a trio of teenage sisters from Hatfield, UK: Carolyne Samuels, her twin Helen, and their younger sister Marion. In 1965 they release one single on Polydor, “Love Made A Fool Of Me / Believe In Me”.