Album Review: Caribou- Our Love

At Four Tets recent DJ set at the Hudson Project festival, he played Caribou (aka Dan Snaith)'s "Can't Do Without You", the first single from his highly anticipated album Our Love. I had heard the track since it  was released a few weeks earlier, but after hearing it live, I understood  and felt it so much more strongly than before.  It was now clear to me that Caribou is on top of his game, and I was all aboard the hype train for Our Love, which wasn't set to come out until October, but unfortunately has leaked two months early (sorry Dan). Now, when I talk about "feeling" the music, in this case I mean it way more than some bro in a club pumping his sweaty fist in the air saying "I'm totally feeling it man". Snaith pulls off something that is rare in electronic music, here he has managed to create an album of detailed, well-produced, dancey music with such strong emotion that you can feel it deep down. Where does this emotion come from? just look at the second word of the title; it's Love. Seeing as how the main emotion in most electronic music is "Let's Fucking Dance", it may be a bold choice to make an album centered around love, but Caribou does it in such a way that one can want to dance along to it while also thinking about a past relationship in which the music reminds them of.

The album begins with the single "Can't Do Without You" which welcomes you in with lots of warmth as this house-influenced track slowly builds into what one might expect to "drop" into a trance style EDM beat, but thank god it never does. Instead, he doses it in nostalgic synths and filters which carry the listener into absolute bliss for a minute until the wall of sound cuts out to Snaiths haunting last few lines of the song. A perfect opener which leaves the listener engaged and highly anticipating the rest of the album. "Silver" comes next with a trip-hop type beat and vocals which remind me of something that would have been a radio hit in the late 80's and early 90's. The last two minutes of this song especially shine with beautiful melodies and synths. "All I Ever Need" brings a heavy UK club influence and deeeep bass as Snaith sings "I can't take it when you treat me wrong" with a Michael Jackson-like attitude. The album's title track "Our Love" is definitely a highlight, this is where he truly brings the feels out with nothing but the repeated line (you guessed it) "Our Love". The first half of  it is tame and emotional, featuring light synths and distorted vocals, but in the second half the track takes a 360 degree turn into a deep-house garage dancefest very reminiscent of 90's rave music. This is dance music executed extremely well, take notes producers. These first four tracks are no doubt the strongest on the album, but it still manages to carry its weight for the rest of its length. The only one track that sticks out as a sore thumb to me is "Second Chance" which features a female vocalist singing generic lyrics, much unlike the usual style of Caribou. "Julia Brightly" is a nice little tune with a definite influence from UK legends Four Tet and Burial, I just wish it were longer, it has a lot of potential. "Mars" is the closest thing to a club "banger" on here, I can definitely see it being played out on a Friday night, but for some reason I feel like I have heard this song before. The beat is super intense, and the flutes are a nice touch on top. "Back Home" is another incredibly emotional song, and a nice slowed down break from the craziness of the song before it. "Your Love Will Set You Free" is a perfect ender to this love-themed album, and it's probably the closest sounding track to his last album Swim.

There is no doubt that Snaith poured his soul out into this album, and the new direction that he took suits him quite well. But those who are fans of his older, more instrumental music might have to readjust to his change into more club influenced music. But if you are willing to listen to this album with open ears, it is a very rewarding listen which accomplishes the goal of displaying raw emotion through a collage of mostly digital sounds.

Album Rating: 9.1/10
Listen to the single "Can't Do Without You" Here