SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CARIBOU – SUDDENLY

Caribou
Suddenly
Merge Records

Suddenly is his fifth studio album by Caribou. Although Dan Snaith plays all of the instruments on his recordings, he uses a band when he tours, which allows him to not only experiment in the studio, but to create music that can be reproduced with a band. As such, this is an album full of very original and diverse sounds, and what a wonderful sound he creates.

Much like Moby or Sufjan Stevens, Caribou explores the boundaries of music and incorporates a great many genres throughout the album, sometimes when you least expect it. “Sunny’s Time”, for example, goes from a new wave beat to hip hop to experimental. This is all in less than three minutes. Caribou is able to pull it all off  with ease, and it makes for fascinating listening.

What is even more interesting is his ability to tie all of this together. The album begins with the very laid back “Sister” and moves into a very danceable “You And I” into the previously noted “Sunny’s Time”. So within 10 minutes your ears and brain have been taken on a road trip through music, and like any good trip, you just enjoy the ride and admire the changes around you.

Caribou seems to manage such transitions with ease. Although each and every song stands on its own and could be singles, they come together to form a very cohesive and strong album. Like a puzzle, the individual tracks are put together to form  a complete audio picture.

The music is extremely well-produced and sounds amazing. His vocals and lyrics are perfect for the music and basically become yet another instrument to layer into the music. The album is well-mixed and flows quite nicely. Caribou takes extra care with the segues between the songs.

Suddenly is a great album, full of great songs and excellent musicianship.

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