WK16 - Caribou - Swim (6.5)

Released - 4/20/10
Label - Merge Records

BLURB - Everyone is digging this new album from indie-electronic outfit Caribou. Pitchfork has named it 'best new music,' their most recent show at Music Hall of Williamsburg sold out quicker than expected and even Passion Pit was blasting "Swim" as their pre-concert house music before they took the stage at their secret show at Classic Car Club (which yours truly attended). But I don't know if I'm really buying it. The album itself teeters back and forth between dark and bright atmospheres of electronica that, while enjoyable, tend to become a bit redundant at points. For every cool house track that combines a million different effects and cool percussion, there is a track that needs to be skipped over because it's so boring. "Swim" is a pretty good album, but let's not get carried away.

Rating - 6.5 out of 10

FULL STORY - Being at the Caribou show at MHoW really justified my take on this album. There were portions of the concert that were almost euphoric, in that everyone (and I mean everyone) was dancing with a beer in their hand and going nuts. There were also other portions where everyone was just kind of standing around looking at their cell phones and thinking about maybe going to grab another drink from the bar. This is "Swim." Highlighted by moments of intense and experimental electronic pop, yet detracted by a bit too much experimentation and pointless dabbling - perhaps Caribou was their own worst enemy?

So 'Odessa' is one of those 'everybody is dancing' songs that I referenced above. It's simple, it's to the point and has that certain 'it' factor to it. It's equal parts dark and gloomy, but balanced out beautifully by clean guitars, bells and an uptempo drum pattern. The gloominess comes from a sample of something...I don't know what. It kind of sounds like the shriek of a girl being stabbed in the stomach, or an indian yelling, or maybe screeching brakes on a car - I'm not sure. Whatever noise it is, it works very well with the track as it adds a certain 'eery' tone to a track that is pretty poppy and upbeat. But don't let all these terrible descriptions of mine fool you. 'Odessa' is a great party song that you wouldn't mind hearing at a club or your friend's house party.

'Kaili' is another upbeat track that has an industrial feel to it. The song itself is very minimal and mainly consists of drums and a few synthesizers. As it keeps progressing, more and more noise and haze slowly begin to filter in, and by the 3:00 minute mark the track is hitting on all cylinders. Yet again, the overall tone of this track is fairly dark and a sense of unrest and tension can be felt throughout the song, keeping the listener addicted and wondering if maybe a homicide or double-murder spawned the concept for this track.

I'll be honest here, I like the song 'Leave House' because it reminds me of the song 'Leaf House' by Animal Collective. I've already found myself inserting 'Leaf House' lyrics into the Caribou track and getting mad when I realized I wasn't listening to Avey Tare and company. But I'm an idiot and most people won't do this. At any rate - this song is actually pretty amazing. Likely the most danceable track, Caribou constantly alters the instrumentation and atmosphere without the song suffering or becoming unglued. Some sections are filled with haze and noise, while others are extremely clean and punctuated with jabs of keyboards and synthesizers.

'Hannibal' is probably the last of the 'good' tracks on "Swim". Here is another minimal groove that slowly builds upon itself in a way that feels natural and organic. What's great is that for the first couple of minutes there really isn't any percussion, which I didn't even realize until I listened to the track a couple of times. Metallic synths provide a simple background that draws you in and lulls you to sleep a little bit - but drums, bass and even more synth slowly work themselves in and you're find yourself being glad you didn't doze off.

Unfortunately, you'll doze off for the rest of the album. Aside from the tracks above, "Swim" is really an uninteresting collection of weird indie-electronica songs that don't really accomplish anything or go anywhere. I find myself constantly trying to get into this record and being unable to do so. Don't be fooled, there are some great songs on the album, but they are surrounded by mediocre filler that even a sold out crowd can't get into. Maybe it's the soft spoken vocal style, or just the monotony that tends to surface in most electronic music - I don't know. Whatever it is, it's a downer, because this album could be great.

Tracks
1.) Odessa
2.) Sun
3.) Kaili
4.) Found Out
5.) Bowls
6.) Leave House
7.) Hannibal
8.) Lalibela
9.) Jamelia