Caribou – Our Love

The word “anticipated” couldn’t be more of an understatement when applied to Caribou’s latest venture, Our Love. Dan Snaith’s newly released album is his first Caribou output in four years, and those have been four long years since the release of his critically acclaimed release Swim in 2010. Selling close to 175,000 copies worldwide, Swim was named Album of the Year by many, from Rough Trade to Resident Advisor, though most importantly, was adored by fans.

Our Love is slow burning yet searingly robust. It grows in size from track to track, each song pulsating with Caribou’s eclectic laptop electronica. Integrating undertones of his signature krautrock, while dabbling in sentimental electronica, Our Love flows fluently from one track to the next. Can’t Do Without You is brooding entry track, an loving ode to Dan’s three-year-old daughter. Silver is melancholic indie with a euphoric dancefloor edge, shoegaze with a twist. Percussion is used heavily throughout Our Love to amplify the obviously intricate emotional edge to each track. Second Chance features vocalist Jessy Lanza, a fellow Canadian artist who offers a 90s pop melodica overlay to this album standout. An additional and notable collaborator on this record was Owen Pallet, who served as an editor offering alternate cuts and fresh perspective to Snaith’s outputs. The result is an incredibly immersive experience that shies away from being a solely dance record, though this is a label Snaith has never comfortably adhered to.

Though not as hard-hitting or instantly impactful as Swim, Our Love is an effortless addition to Caribou’s portfolio. It’s a mature though bittersweet insight into love in various incarnations – incredibly ambitious and quite frankly spellbinding. This record is heartfelt and endearing, Caribou once again excels and demonstrates why he has critics and fans consistently begging for more. Our Love is likely to pacify both for the time being, and will only continue to grow his reputation as one of the industry’s best, who refuses to disappoint.

Donna Mackay

Our Love is released on 6^th October 2014, for further information or to order the album here.

Watch the video for Our Love here: