Thematically, "Oh Caroline" is a
love song that deals with hopelessness, unrequited devotion and suicide.[16][18][19] In the lyrics, Healy is pushed to the point of suicidal ideation, singing: "I'll try anything that you want to / I'll 'find myself in the moonlight' / 'Cause baby I want everything that you want / And I've tried to 'just be me' like a thousand times".[19] However, the singer seeks to make amends, singing: "Oh Caroline, I wanna get it right this time / 'Cause you're always on my mind".[5]
Evening Standard writer David Smyth said there is a "light Miami Vice funkiness" to the song.[9]
Brady Brickner-Wood of Pitchfork said the song blends Carly Rae Jepsen and Bruce Hornsby.[15]
Evan Sawdey of PopMatters also echoed Brickner-Wood's Hornsby comparison.[19]
Matt Collar of
AllMusic said the song blends influences of
Fleetwood Mac with the dance-oriented post-punk of the band's
self-titled debut album (2013).[7]
Steve Erickson of Slant Magazine called the song "a lost adult-pop hit from 1985".[13]
Alex Swhear of Variety noted dark undercurrents within the song's lyrics and said it "may be the first love song of note to bemoan 'getting
cucked'".[18]
Mitch Mosk of Atwood Magazine wrote that the song contains a "no-holds-barred openness and directness" in its lyrics.[21]
Reception
The song placed 24th on the Los Angeles Times' best songs of 2022 list, with the editorial staff saying: "Imagine Lloyd Dobler hoisting that boombox outside Diane Court’s window and blasting 'The Way It Is' instead of “In Your Eyes.'"[22]
In a ranking of the band's best songs, Molly Marsh of Gigwise listed the song at number 43; the writer commended Healy's vocal performance and compared the song to
Lionel Richie's "
All Night Long (All Night)" (1983).[23]
Ranking the song at number 47 in a list of the band's greatest songs for NME, Rhian Daly lauded the "gigantic" chorus and "rasped, urgent" bridge, deeming it a "big, bold pop song that feels both classic and completely fresh".[5]
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press said the song sounded similar to a theme song from a late-1970s romantic comedy television show.[24]
Philip Giouras of Gigwise gave the song a favourable review and deemed it "without a doubt as perfect as pop can be"; praising the "intelligent" groove and "anthemic" chorus, Giouras wrote that Healy "manages to find that sweet spot of yearning emotion in his tone and delivery".[4]
Stephen Ackroyd of Dork called the song a career highlight for the band and also made a comparison between the song and "All Night Long", saying the 1975 took Richie's track and "twisted and turned [it] into a track that draws together all strands and blends them together in perfect harmony".[26]
Brickner-Wood commended the song's timeless, retro sound and said: "It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s magnificent in its breadth—it makes you believe, however reservedly, that you, too, can 'find [yourself] in the moonlight.'"[15]
Deeming it among the most "stunning" and "deeply affective" songs on the album, Sawdey gave praise to the lyrics for "articulating the weirder corners of the human experience".[19]
Swhear called the song an audacious and unanticipated detour from the parent album.[18]
Mosk called the song an album highlight and wrote that it is an "inspiring, all-consuming celebratory" standout.[21]
Chris DeVille of Stereogum called it a "howl-along" and praised the production and lyrics.[14]
Joshua Williams of Buzz Magazine also drew comparisons to the work of Richie.[27]
Eli Ordonez of NME deemed the "nostalgic" song an album highlight, saying that the lyrics "demonstrate an exceptional amount of sincerity, an earnest tribute to unrequited love".[17]
In a mixed review, Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit said the song shares the "
Californian sunset mood" of the band's "
She's American" (2016) but lacks that song's imagination and specificity, while also deriding the lyrics as lazy.[28]
The editorial staff of The Irish Times were similarly ambivalent, saying the band "have merely gussied up their usual formula and are now presenting it with added affectations".[12]
Brady Gerber of Spin called the song lean and light, which he felt made it enjoyable at face value, he bemoaned the song for sounding akin to a
One Direction song about suicide, ultimately deeming it a "cringeworthy execution and a pale comparison" to the 1975's "subversive" cover of One Direction's "
What Makes You Beautiful" (2011).[16]
^Barr, Natalia; Bell, Sadie; Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie; DeCaro, Alessandro; Hardman, Neville; Kaplan, Ilana; Pulgar, E.R.; Summan, Yasmine (12 December 2022).
"The 55 best albums of 2022". Alternative Press. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
Thematically, "Oh Caroline" is a
love song that deals with hopelessness, unrequited devotion and suicide.[16][18][19] In the lyrics, Healy is pushed to the point of suicidal ideation, singing: "I'll try anything that you want to / I'll 'find myself in the moonlight' / 'Cause baby I want everything that you want / And I've tried to 'just be me' like a thousand times".[19] However, the singer seeks to make amends, singing: "Oh Caroline, I wanna get it right this time / 'Cause you're always on my mind".[5]
Evening Standard writer David Smyth said there is a "light Miami Vice funkiness" to the song.[9]
Brady Brickner-Wood of Pitchfork said the song blends Carly Rae Jepsen and Bruce Hornsby.[15]
Evan Sawdey of PopMatters also echoed Brickner-Wood's Hornsby comparison.[19]
Matt Collar of
AllMusic said the song blends influences of
Fleetwood Mac with the dance-oriented post-punk of the band's
self-titled debut album (2013).[7]
Steve Erickson of Slant Magazine called the song "a lost adult-pop hit from 1985".[13]
Alex Swhear of Variety noted dark undercurrents within the song's lyrics and said it "may be the first love song of note to bemoan 'getting
cucked'".[18]
Mitch Mosk of Atwood Magazine wrote that the song contains a "no-holds-barred openness and directness" in its lyrics.[21]
Reception
The song placed 24th on the Los Angeles Times' best songs of 2022 list, with the editorial staff saying: "Imagine Lloyd Dobler hoisting that boombox outside Diane Court’s window and blasting 'The Way It Is' instead of “In Your Eyes.'"[22]
In a ranking of the band's best songs, Molly Marsh of Gigwise listed the song at number 43; the writer commended Healy's vocal performance and compared the song to
Lionel Richie's "
All Night Long (All Night)" (1983).[23]
Ranking the song at number 47 in a list of the band's greatest songs for NME, Rhian Daly lauded the "gigantic" chorus and "rasped, urgent" bridge, deeming it a "big, bold pop song that feels both classic and completely fresh".[5]
Mark Kennedy of the Associated Press said the song sounded similar to a theme song from a late-1970s romantic comedy television show.[24]
Philip Giouras of Gigwise gave the song a favourable review and deemed it "without a doubt as perfect as pop can be"; praising the "intelligent" groove and "anthemic" chorus, Giouras wrote that Healy "manages to find that sweet spot of yearning emotion in his tone and delivery".[4]
Stephen Ackroyd of Dork called the song a career highlight for the band and also made a comparison between the song and "All Night Long", saying the 1975 took Richie's track and "twisted and turned [it] into a track that draws together all strands and blends them together in perfect harmony".[26]
Brickner-Wood commended the song's timeless, retro sound and said: "It’s fun, it’s funny, it’s magnificent in its breadth—it makes you believe, however reservedly, that you, too, can 'find [yourself] in the moonlight.'"[15]
Deeming it among the most "stunning" and "deeply affective" songs on the album, Sawdey gave praise to the lyrics for "articulating the weirder corners of the human experience".[19]
Swhear called the song an audacious and unanticipated detour from the parent album.[18]
Mosk called the song an album highlight and wrote that it is an "inspiring, all-consuming celebratory" standout.[21]
Chris DeVille of Stereogum called it a "howl-along" and praised the production and lyrics.[14]
Joshua Williams of Buzz Magazine also drew comparisons to the work of Richie.[27]
Eli Ordonez of NME deemed the "nostalgic" song an album highlight, saying that the lyrics "demonstrate an exceptional amount of sincerity, an earnest tribute to unrequited love".[17]
In a mixed review, Claire Biddles of The Line of Best Fit said the song shares the "
Californian sunset mood" of the band's "
She's American" (2016) but lacks that song's imagination and specificity, while also deriding the lyrics as lazy.[28]
The editorial staff of The Irish Times were similarly ambivalent, saying the band "have merely gussied up their usual formula and are now presenting it with added affectations".[12]
Brady Gerber of Spin called the song lean and light, which he felt made it enjoyable at face value, he bemoaned the song for sounding akin to a
One Direction song about suicide, ultimately deeming it a "cringeworthy execution and a pale comparison" to the 1975's "subversive" cover of One Direction's "
What Makes You Beautiful" (2011).[16]
^Barr, Natalia; Bell, Sadie; Cummings-Grady, Mackenzie; DeCaro, Alessandro; Hardman, Neville; Kaplan, Ilana; Pulgar, E.R.; Summan, Yasmine (12 December 2022).
"The 55 best albums of 2022". Alternative Press. Retrieved 11 April 2023.