Fighting the undertow on Caribou’s ‘Swim’
Whenever a band is able to produce several stellar records in a row, they are considered for one of the enviable positions amongst my favorite music on my Facebook Page for Mark Zuckerberg to take and share in a capitalistic manner all over the Internet.
Caribou has reached that point already and their latest album “Swim” has to be listed amongst on of my favorites so far this year.
Caribou, the Dan Snaith project is almost into its 10th year has produced several incredible releases. Caribou’s growth as an artist from “Up in Flames”, “The Milk of Human Kindness” and “Andorra” have not truly led in any one logical progression. But anyone that is sincere about LCD Soundsystems album should definitely check this out.
Snaith, an accomplished drummer and mathematician would also be part of my All-Star Fantasy Band.
Other Members?
Thom Yorke
Noah Lennox (Panda Bear)
Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound)
I am not picking these members by instrument they play but more so on what they have brought to the table insofar as expanding the horizons of music and were ironically the first 4 artists that I thought of. However, the point of this is not to get off topic but rather specify just how important Caribou is to the current music scene.
Caribou’s 2010 release, “Swim” seems to be more than just a title but a theme. In songs such as Kaili, there is almost a warbling underwater feel to its electronica setup. In some manner, it would almost be like taking the backdrop of the dance floor and combining that with Olivia Tremor Controls ‘Black Foliage’ album.
The stellar track “Sun” is primarily an instrumental dance track with Snaith repeating the word “Sun” several times. On the surface it sounds simple but again, it plays with your emotions. Listen carefully to the uneasy feeling, almost as if you were underwater and looking up at the surface diving in and out of the water, the word “Sun” blurred until you get to the surface and its as crystal clear to the ear. What does it feel like? Um, like you are swimming.
What is surprising about Snaith’s direction is how he pulled back in fear of becoming too mainstream. There seemed to be a direction that the albums were taking, while keeping with some of the psychedelic influences intact. A song like Melody Day for example is reminiscent of classic 60’s pop and yet feels fairly modern.
Take the most accessible track off Swim, the opening track ‘Odessa’ and you get a funky beat and yet it still has time to pull some strings. Odessa feels as if it should be played at the darker end of the dancefloor, its murky, scratchy feel keeping you off balance while the percussion keeps your head bobbing.
‘Swim’ is not the pop follow-up to ‘Andorra’. Instead, Caribou digs you deeper and farther underwater. The transition song ‘Lalibela’ appears to borrow from Caribou’s own ‘After Hours’ becoming much briefer and off-kilter but leads to the intriguing ‘Jamelia’ featuring Luke Lalonde from the Born Ruffians on lead vocals. Changing tempos several times, it feels as if it approaches world music.
What is very much apparent is the combination of conventional instruments as well as electronica in the same breadth, something that Snaith pushed the boundaries on this particular album. Take into account that during their live shows, there are two drummers featured in the front of the stage. While I have seen the element of the Electronica genre feature a drummer, few will put two on stage and even fewer will stuff the back row with individuals that play conventional instruments.
‘Swim’ is not a conventional album, however, and it should be noted that I will be keeping notes when the band plays it’s free show at Pritzker Pavilion here in Chicago this summer.
Lastly, I have found myself relating to this album on a deeper level with the recent BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. While there are no direct ‘Spooky’ correlations as with Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot after 9/11 you still do not help but wonder about humans relationship with the water and our senses of this pure source of life (and death). This album will not give you answers but it will make you ask a couple questions along the way.