Caribou's 2010 release, Swim, was a pleasant surprise - not only had Caribou never really entered my radar before this album, but it's like they appeared in my world as this perfect combination of Hot Chip's playful party music, the Whitest Boy Alive's delicate delivery of dance beats, and Glenn Kotche's solo sense of rhythm. True, Daniel Snaith has been releasing music for years, since 2000 as Manitoba and since 2005 since he changed his pseudonym to Caribou, but he always floated on the edge of my periphery without ever grabbing my attention.
But grab my attention he did, with an album that becomes better and better with each successive listen. While Hot Chip and Whitest Boy Alive were my first comparison points (the vocal similarities on certain tracks call for a double-take), I actually love Swim so much because it's far more introspective than those two contemporaries. Yes, certain songs can be bouncy and fun ("Odessa" and "Leave House," in particular), but for me this album is about disappearing into your head rather than disappearing into the dancefloor.
I got a chance to see Caribou at Moogfest back in October, and while it wasn't the mind expanding/exploding experience of Panda Bear or the costumed dance party Hot Chip threw, it was one of my favorite performances of the festival. Still, Swim for me is always going to be an album for at-home listening - its rich textures can be better deciphered with eyes closed, where you can get lost in the layers and not come up for air until the end of its forty three minutes.
"Leave House"
"Sun"
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