#2
Caribou
Andorra
With hard drives having long ago replaced analog tape and point-and-click having superseded power chords as the driving force behind rock music, it’s no wonder that a growing legion of musicians are looking back to the halcyon days of the late 60s and early 70s for inspiration.
So the fact that the music of Caribou (the moniker of Canadian songwriter and performer Dan Snaith) bears a striking resemblance to that of such period luminaries as Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson and Sergeant Pepper-era Beatles doesn’t come as much of a surprise. What is surprising, though, is that he captures all the organic feel and human imperfections of that classic music alone, in a studio, mostly using computers. And that he creates such a distinctive, exuberant sound that is not so much a pastiche as a re-imagining.
On Andorra, Snaith has crafted a near-perfect psychedelic pop album, and with the very first track, “Melody Day,” you immediately sense his recipe for success: hook-laden melodies, breathy, beautifully harmonized, high-register vocals, countless layers of (possibly sampled) guitars, vintage keyboards, flutes and percussion, and—most importantly—live drums. This last aspect plays a huge role throughout the album, taking instrumentation that tends toward the lush and baroque and anchoring it with a supple and propulsive rhythmic drive. Nowhere is this more apparent than on standout track “Sandy,” with a groove that perches precariously between the steady snap of “Tomorrow Never Knows” and a hyperactive break-beat worthy of The Chemical Brothers.
And while Caribou milks plenty of stellar moments out of this consistent approach, it’s this very consistency that makes the few deviations from the formula on Andorra so effective. For example, “She’s the One,” which trades the up-tempo, four-square rhythms for a slow shuffle, or “Desiree,” which dispenses with drums altogether, and swells from wistful reflection to heart-on-your-sleeve pleading. But nothing illustrates Snaith’s range quite so effectively as the closing track on Andorra, the superb “Niobe,” with a slowly growing sense of urgency and impressively spare use of burbling electronics and throbbing synth bass lines.
Clearly, Snaith possesses a deep appreciation for and understanding of popular music traditions, both new and old. Which makes the fact that, on Andorra, he is able to synthesize all these disparate influences into an album that’s singular, life-affirming and thoroughly human an impressive accomplishment indeed.
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