Andorra

Caribou

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 21, 2007)
• Original Release Date: August 21, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Merge Records
• ASIN: B000SM7R3I
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,520 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sleigh Bells. Multi-tracked, bombastic drums. Gentle falsettos. Flutophone. Flutophone? Just some of what you'll encounter in the first few minutes of Andorra. For those unaware, Andorra is a small country nestled between Spain and France, and Caribou is one Don Snaith, formerly known as Manitoba (he switched names after threat of lawsuit by ex-pro wrestler Richard "Handsome Dick" Manitoba. No joke.). Andorra continues Snaith's trajectory since 2003's Up in Flames, when he shed the IDM and electronic cocoon of his earlier work for the sun-soaked psychedelic maelstrom (and live band) that continues to date. Snaith has found a new level of focus within the confines of his swirling laboratory and the result is an exhausting slab of avant-pop. '60s grab-bag comparisons here are inevitable. "Melody Day" is remarkably like The United States of America in its soft, falsetto melody and freakbeat drums. The Silver Apples robotic bass line pop of "Sandy" gives it a mechanical propulsion that cuts through its curtains of noise. "After Hours" is Soft Machine reincarnate. "Irene" is a melancholy drum machine-backed pop tune, until it gives way to white noise (literally--or is that pink noise?). The unifier of Snaith's compositions remains the ubiquitous, multi-tracked drum onslaught, but the confidence in his vocals (and subsequently, the melodic appeal) increases with every release. The few missteps, like "Desiree," which falls flat in its meandering, do not deter the overall success of this outing. Half a century of studio experimentation has informed and enhanced the recipe for blissing out, and Caribou cooks up another batch here for your immersion. --Jason Pace

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When your smile, it melts away, August 20, 2007

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I am not sad that Caribou has been absent for the past few years. Not a bit.

For the record, that doesn't mean that I don't like his music. In fact, I'm glad because Caribou (also known as Daniel V. Snaith) apparently spent his time coming up wiyj "Andorra," an album of psychedelic folkpop that stands way above his past work. It's a magical, almost transcendent little album that never allows you to be bored.

It opens with a swirling, lush little melody, full of bells and twittering flute. "Melody day/what have I done?" Snaith murmurs softly. "Now our hearts are locked up tight again/and when I pray its all begun/and when you smile it melts away again..."

That sound is echoed in "Sandy," which straddles the fence between pastoral pop and psychedelica. And it echoes in the songs that follow: swirling folkpop, languorous indie-rockers, soaring psychedelica, sunny breezy pop melodies, delicate electropop, and ending with the darker, shimmering "Niobe."

"Andorra" is a pretty big departure from Caribou's past work -- he started with jazzy electronica, then dense electro-guitarpop and then the free-form psychedelic dementafolk of "The Milk of Human Kindness." This one sounds more like a 1966 acid trip in a summery meadow -- it's just pure, magical psychedelica, with moments of indie-rock and krautrock thrown in.

It's also his most conventionally poppy work, but that's not a bad thing. While his past works were more about exploration than melody, this one is sheer beauty, with lots of peppy melodies swathed in the instrumentation. "Desiree," for example, is a pretty typical love ballad, but smothered in a cloud of tinkling chimes, jabbing violins and delicate synth.

The music itself is a kaleidoscope of gentle acoustic guitar, strings and expansive keyboard full of chimes, twitters and bubbles. As if that weren't sumptuous enough, Snaith adds on bells, banjo, and a flute that does its best to imitate birdcalls, as well as his own elusively wistful vocals.

"Andorra" is unlike any of Caribou's past work, but it's also the best. Soft, sunny and transcendentally pretty, this is a electronic and psychedelic masterpiece.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of 2007: Psychedelic goodness from Canada, September 23, 2007

By	Manny Hernandez "Author of Ning For Dummies" (Bay Area, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

2007 seems to be quietly turning into another 2005 for Canadian music. The Besnard Lakes, Do make Say Think, Stars, The New Pornographers and Broken Social Scene's Kevin Drew have come out with new material... and then there's "Andorra" by Caribou, a production with a very psychedelic feel to it, which yields a super-stellar album when combined with Caribou's typical electronic experimentation.

There are moments when you feel you could be in front of Beck, but then you know it's not him. You then figure: it sounds a bit like The Besnard Lakes: perhaps, but still not there. I guess the easiest way to picture this album is: imagine how The Beach Boys would sound if blended with 1966-1967 Beatles experimentation, had they come to life in an age where digital audio production was available.

This was my introduction to Caribou... and made me feel like I owe it to myself to dig back in this guy's discography to find which other musical jewels I may be able to unearth. I will report back any findings. In the meantime, enjoy "Andorra".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Utterly unexpected, August 25, 2007

By	J "marv" (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

When I first heard about this album I was simply not enthralled because I thought I knew what Caribou was all about. I was wrong. This album is nothing short of amazing and the first reviewer captured it perfectly. Sandy, Eli, Irene, Melody Day are some of my favorites but basically every track was damn good. The sound in this record is different and I like it. This record is pure dope!