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Caribou

47
Caribou

Caribou
On his 2001 debut album, Ontario, Canada’s Dan Snaith brought together a world where he imagined what electronic music might sound if its usual iciness and austerity thawed, just a little. Although still a fundamentally cold-weather record, Start Breaking My Heart hums with traces of the same acoustic textures and percussive abandon that Snaith would later dial up on his later outings. His sophomore release, Up In Flames, avoided the sophomore curse. His third album, 2005’s The Milk  of Human Kindness solidified his status as a critical darling, but the public-masses were still a little behind. It was really his fifth album, 2010’s Swim, that brought him out of the flames and into the public’s consciousness. This was after his third album, Andorra, had won the Polaris Music-Prize, a Canadian prize for best Canadian album of the year. Swim was a major break-through. It proved that he could create challenging music while still dazzle the listener. It sounds refreshingly organic and remarkably downbeat. I first got on board with Caribou a bit late, with 2014’s Our Love, an album so full of rhythm and groove, I was beside myself. The track “Can’t Do Without You” will be listened to by electronic-heads for centuries. It is evident at this point that Snaith has perfected his recipe for bite-sized psychedelia. Every track he creates pulses with a live feel, but they’re all underpinned with the best elements of house, live jazz and even ambient music. Which brings us up to speed with this year, 2020’s Suddenly, which as of this writing, is the eighth best rated album of the year so far according to Metacritic. This is music for the elevator-ride up to the big-rave or the jazz lounge later for the hangover… And I mean that as a compliment. E.D.M. is more than just rise-and-fall breaks-‘n’-beats, and the best of electronic artists create their own environment… So if you are someone who appreciates analog-inspired electronica, I would definitely check out Caribou. You know what to do…

It’s…
Caribou.

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