Swim by Caribou
Caribou's last release was in 2007 and it won a little award called the Polaris Prize which goes to the best album in North America. So, little to say Caribou is quite reputable. Actually Caribou is a one-man band, Daniel Snaith, that garners fans like Wayne Coyne, Thom Yorke, and Noah Lennox. In the three year gap between LPs he did something that not many people, including himself thought he could do... Swim! Snaith learned to swim over the past few years and this is the reason the album is named Swim.
Swim could also had been named for its liquid overtones that create the sense of swimming through this multi-colored stream of conscience. The album begins with the gloomy dance track "Odessa" before it winds it way past the echoing "Sun" and the pulsating, Eastern-influenced "Kaili". Snaith then uses a haunting, multi-layered experimental track in the four slot, "Found Out". The second portion of this 9 track album starts with the gliding, flowing "Bowls". The album then dips into its best two tracks, "Leave House" and "Hannibal". Both tracks have intros that sound like they are made off GarageBand, but grow into ambitious and spacious songs. "Lalibela" is a dreamy transition from those two songs to the elegant, hyperpop, trance track "Jamelia" to close out the sensational album.
I mean sensational in a literal fashion here because Swim is like an orgasm for the ears. Its sounds and lyrics are stimulating and profound. Its deepth is unmatched by Snaith's earlier work and makes Swim Caribou's most dense, well-produced album yet. Dive into it and enjoy its warm emotion.
Rating = 8.8
