Saturday, October 29, 2011

Caribou

It would seem that I'm trapped in a system of writing about either music or my inner thoughts. I promise that there's more to my life than that, but I won't back that up today. Today, I'm talkin' 'bout Caribou.

I ran into Caribou when I was getting into other related bands, like Deerhoof, Deerhunter (well, related by name, anyways). Of course, it's blatantly silly to judge bands just by their name, but why the heck not? I gave 'em a listen.



My first introduction to Caribou was Andorra, released in 2007. It remains to this day one of my favorite albums. It's hard to say if the album is electronic; the elements of the genre are there, but it's so organic. The album cover, as you can see, is very rustic, and whenever I listen to music, the cover always pops up in my head; I can't help but feel like this album is filled with very human electronica. Several of the songs' names are people's names. The lyrics are full of love, and Dan Snaith's voice is an airy tenor/falsetto that can easily match the warmth of the lyrics. And, of course, the ridiculous drum samples are always welcome.




After that, I jumped to Swim, the newest release. Now, I have no doubt that this is an electronic album. The drums and whimsical synths of Andorra were mechanized and darkened. The song-naming scheme sticks, and the lyrics stay focused on people ("Sun" is an exception, but I don't care, because that song is amazing). It's also a marvelous album that I recommend whole-heartedly.



At this point, I want to note something interesting about the band. It really helps to do research, sometimes. Caribou is Dan Snaith of Manitoba, Ontario. The guy's got a PhD in Mathematics. He spent years working in one of the most abstract fields of study there is, and now he's doing DJ jobs and cutting records. It makes me wonder if he inserts little things into his music. For example, I read a story once that someone took the BPM of a bunch of U2 songs and compared it to the delay effect of The Edge's guitar. They came up with a number very close to the golden ratio, possibly the most aesthetically pleasing number known to man. Snaith has to be a clever guy, and he probably throws in all kinds of crazy stuff.

I love Caribou because his music is close to the heart, and it's very competent electronica. Sometimes I want to jam with Daft Punk and pretend like I'm a robot; other times it's more appealing to kick back and enjoy the beats. Caribou, congratulations. You are this week's Band of the Century.

My picks
Melody Day
Desiree
Sundialing
Odessa
Sun
Hannibal
Kid You'll Move Mountains
Yeti

Saving up for the day when she goes /The day that she stands up for everything that she chose

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