Caribou - Andorra - Music & Performance - CD

Dan Snaith, under the guise of Caribou (formerly Manitoba), has been producing critically acclaimed albums for six years now, each an impressive development on the previous one. For his Merge debut, he marries the kaleidoscopic grandeur he's known for with pop melodies and harmonies crammed densely together. The album is vividly three-dimensional, it's hard to believe it was performed and recorded entirely by Snaith at home, save for vocal and songwriting contributions by friend/tour mate Junior Boy's Jeremy Greenspan on one track.

As Dan Snaith became an accomplished producer with his Manitoba and Caribou albums of the 2000s, the breathtaking vitality of his early work gave way to music that may have been more accomplished, but was never as interesting or as fun to listen to. Andorra is just the kind of break with the past that he needed after 2005's relatively lackluster The Milk of Human Kindness. His first album on Merge, it's less a collection of innovative sounds and productions (like The Milk of Human Kindness) and more an album of songs, united by his motivations and desires. These tracks are first and foremost songs -- and not just because Snaith is singing a bit more. There's less of a "programmed" sound, although the productions are dense with tape cut-ups, layered harmonies, and various percussion lines threaded through the mix. And the sheer strength of the material is immediately apparent when the opener, "Melody Day," reveals itself as the best moment in Snaith's career. First of all, it sounds like it was recorded in 1966 by a British band that just missed the cut for the Nuggets, Vol. 2 box set, recalling '60s touchstones like the Move or Soft Machine. Not strictly a throwback, though, its ineffably crisp and kaleidoscopic production style ranks with the best of Dungen or Fiery Furnaces or Animal Collective (which is high praise indeed). Andorra may be a bedroom record, but it certainly doesn't sound like a bedroom record; it has the energy and intensity of group participation, and that makes it Snaith's best yet. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Performer	Caribou
Music genre	Electronica
Music subgenre	CD - Electronic
Media format	CD
Original release date	2007-08-21
Edition	Standard Edition
Language	English
Is collectible	Y
Number of tracks	10
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Caribou - Andorra COMPACT DISCS
Track listing	Melody Day, Sandy, After Hours, She's the One, Desiree, Eli, Sundialing, Irene, Niobe
Record label	Merge Records
Target audience	Adult
Composer	Dan Snaith
Songwriter	Dan Snaith
Music producer	Dan Snaith
Number in series	1
Occasion	All Occasion
Track name	Melody Day
Duration	43.02 min
Digital audio file format	Flac
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N